Whizlink.com Breaches 1,299 Records Online
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 30, 2007Media Contact: Aaron Titus
(202) 669-2969
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, California. Sanjiv Bhagat, an employee of California mortgage services company American Vision Financial Inc., was surprised to find that someone was using his username and password without authorization to store sensitive information on his company's server, using a domain registered in his name, but to his company's address. Whizlink.com contained an Excel file which contained what appeared to be a call list with personal information of 1,299 sales leads. Mr. Bhagat insists that he has no idea who the file belonged to, and took immediate action to take the entire site down.
The file appeared to contain full names, addresses, phone numbers, financial information, and individualized comments like, "WAS IN HURRY. CALL AFTER 8 PM," "REFINANCE+DEBTS CONSOLIDATION," "FICO SCORE - 540," "LOAN OFFICER - TIM," "HE IS LOOKING FOR 50000 FOR TO PY OFF THE DEBTS AND FOR THE HOME IMP," and "HUNG UP ON SSN." The file was available through Google.
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.
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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.