followups
identity theft
The Transportation Security Administration, the division of the Department of Homeland Security charged with keeping bombs and
pies away from planes, has misplaced an external hard drive containing social security numbers, bank data, and payroll information for 100,000 employees. We say "misplaced" because the TSA is not sure if the laptop was stolen, or "is still within headquarters."
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usda
A database used by the Department of Agriculture for twenty-six years may have compromised the social security numbers of over 60,000 farmers. The breach was discovered after a bored Illinois farmer googled the name of his farm.
The database is more than two decades old and is used by federal and state agencies, researchers, journalists and private citizens to track government spending. Thousands of copies of the database exist.
The database was used by the Farm Service Agency and USDA Rural Development. The Department is notifying affected individuals by mail, and will provide them with free credit monitoring for one year. If you want more information, but don't want to wait for a letter, lay down your plowshares and pruning hooks and call the USDA incident hotline at (800) FED-INFO (333-4636).
— CAREY GREENBERG-BERGER
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stolenidsearch
Has someone stolen your social security or credit card number? StolenIDSearch is a new site aims to answer this question that has tickled the back of most American's minds at some point, especially in light of the recent spree of retailer breaches and stolen laptops containing reams of personal information.
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cellphones
A reader tip suggests you can get a better deal on a cellphone by being an immigrant.
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cbs
Has your Social Secrity number been stolen and used to get access to your credit? A CBS producer working on an identity theft story would like to speak with you. If you've been victimized in this way and would like to share your story, drop an email to
tips@consumerist.com. We'll be your merry matchmaker.
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Consumerist
Comcast's customer service czar Frank responded to our post "Comcast: "The Patriot Act" Mandates We Need Your SSN" by saying it was an error on part of the agent. Via Twitter he said:
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theft
