ID Thief Gives Away 49 New York Residents' Personal Info
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 7, 2007Media Contact: Aaron Titus
(202) 681-1686
NEW YORK, New York. An identity thief who identifies himself as "Cypher," explained how he went dumpster diving in New York for sensitive information. Though the Liberty Coalition discovered the file in August, 2007 and reported the breach to the FBI on August 26, the file remained online until at least October 15, 2007, and was confirmed deleted only on December 7, 2007.
The text file he posted, entitled "Dumpster Diving... Part II." contained addresses and social security numbers for 49 New York residents. The file boasts, "CONTACT ORGANIZED CONFUZION VIA VOICEMAIL: UNITED STATES HEAD QUARTERS 1+212-415-0239 AFTER 22:00" The number turned out to be a fax number.
This file was reported to the FBI (without any visible action on the FBI's part), and the Liberty Coalition requested Google to purge it from its caches.
Individuals affected by this exposure should immediately visit www.nationalidwatch.org and search for their names, to confirm what types of personal information were exposed. NationalIDWatch.org has a list of recommended steps victims should take.
About NationalIDWatch.org
National ID Watch is a search engine for personal information breaches. Sponsored by the Washington, DC non-profit Liberty Coalition, NationalIDWatch.org provides more than a million free personalized Identity Exposure Reports™ as a public service.
Each Identity Exposure Report (IXR) documents what types of personal information were exposed (such as Social Security Numbers, Birth Dates, Addresses, etc.), without revealing them. Each IXR also details the situation surrounding each exposure, and contact information of those responsible for the breach. Armed with this information, victims can further investigate, take action, or correct harm.