Nearly 8 Months After Settlement of Massive Choicepoint Data Breach, No Funds Have Been Dispersed to the Victims of Identity Theft

NEARLY 8 MONTHS AFTER SETTLEMENT OF MASSIVE CHOICEPOINT DATA BREACH, NO FUNDS HAVE BEEN DISPERSED TO THE VICTIMS OF IDENTITY THEFT

Today Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), the top Democrat on the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee and a senior member of the full Energy and Commerce Committee, released a letter to Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras urging her to explain a press report that the FTC has not yet compensated identity theft victims over eight months after a settlement was reached with ChoicePoint following a massive data breach. The report by the Associated Press yesterday indicates that the FTC has not yet developed the procedures to distribute $5 million in settlement funds to almost 1,000 known ID theft victims after the massive ChoicePoint data breach. Rep. Markey, co-Chairman of the Congressional Privacy Caucus, has offered a number of measures to protect Americans' privacy, including a bill to protect Social Security numbers and increase penalties for organizations that do not take steps to secure individuals' health, financial and Internet privacy.

Rep. Markey said, "Over 18 months after the massive ChoicePoint data breach, it is shocking that the FTC has not yet compensated the victims of this fraud and that the Republicans in Congress have not made progress on Federal legislation to prevent such thefts from occurring in the first place. ChoicePoint's ID theft victims should be compensated immediately to protect themselves and their families from having their Social Security numbers, health records and bank account balances used by identity thieves."

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http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2159&Itemid=141