Data Lost on 650,000 Credit Card Holders

Source: Times on Line

PLANO, Texas - Personal information on about 650,000 customers of J.C. Penney and up to 100 other retailers could be compromised after a computer tape went missing. GE Money, which handles credit card operations for Penney and many other retailers, said Thursday night that the missing information includes Social Security numbers for about 150,000 people.

The information was on a backup computer tape that was discovered missing last October. It was being stored at a warehouse run by Iron Mountain Inc., a data storage company, and was never checked out but can't be found either, said Richard C. Jones, a spokesman for GE Money, part of General Electric Capital Corp.

Jones said there was "no indication of theft or anything of that sort," and no evidence of fraudulent activity on the accounts involved.

Iron Mountain spokesman Dan O'Neill said it would take specialized skills for someone to glean the personal data from the tape. He said the company regretted losing the tape, "but because of the volume of information we handle and the fact people are involved, we have occasionally made mistakes."

Read more: http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/01/17/ap/hitech/d8u823r03.txt

---

This happens so often, I wonder if this is even news anymore

then maybe this announcement serves to get one to sign up/pay up for one of those ID-theft protection services. I don't put anything past those bastards anymore.

:sarcasm:

Like a month ago.

You know, the information on how much money I owe them!

I work in collection law

Or do you work as an attorney for people against collection agencies? "Collection law" seems kind of a vague.

I do not call people

and my firm is very ethical about following the letter and spirit of the various laws regarding debt collection

whole purpose in life is take money from poor people cohesively and give it to billion dollar corporations. That is sure as hell one job position I wouldn't take.

Are you saying that poor people live beyond their means with credit cards and then expect not to pay them? There are lots of ways to get food and shelter other than 'stealing it' via credit cards.

I believe that many corporations are corrupt and that they have too much power in our government, but that doesn't mean people should use credit cards, then not pay or make any effort to pay.

Like my mom's just did, or had a surprise medical bill etc. Theres more to "Collections" than just people buying the latest big screen TV with money they dont have. Some people get screwed by the system and then get in trouble. Let me say this, my opinion of bill collector's is very very low.

you know...the ones who CAN pay, but don't? the ones who end up driving up rates and costs for the rest of us?

and there are plenty of files that cross my desk that constitute fraud on the part of the debtors

it costs us more money to sue someone and take them to default than it does to settle a case

we try and settle fairly whenever possible

these people have entered into contracts; it's not my fault if they haven't read the contract before signing it or using the card

to at least send 5, 10 bucks to each of them periodically - it establishes a communication record, indicates good faith and really does cut down on calls.

corporation my doctor is employed by my $2 bi-weekly payment isn't enough and tough cookies I barely make enough to cover the mortgage and car payment. They also informed me I am being turned over to collections. :shrug: What is one to do? Personally, I told them they can do that if they wish but that isn't going to get them any more money per month.

Other than that, I agree with your post, Skittles. This is the first time I have ever been threatened with collections, for the reason you stated. I make sure everyone gets something, anything, each month, to show intent. Oh, and I call them freqently to keep them updated and to let them know I am still "out here". I have found communication is very important and extremely helpful.

edited for spelling

more and more people will be turned over to collections regardless of any good faith displayed :(

especially when you seem to be able to afford internet access.

>especially when you seem to be able to afford internet access<

The person stated they were paying $2 a week. If they have multiple accounts they're trying to pay off, that could be a significant chunk of change. It's possible to get dialup for less than $10 a month now as well, isn't it?

I hope the self-righteousness keeps you warm at night.
Julie

'frequently'.

via the link?

someone in Kenya just bought a new Wii with that "lost" data. It's been found, believe me, and the people that found it are mighty grateful.

Last October, yet.

I supect they only get bad press.

and yet you'll hear how the government is bad at protecting your info. That's true, when Bush and his appointees entered office.

Heard a conservative idiot call up yesterday while Laura Flanders was filling for Rachel Maddow. Instead of pointing this out that private companies were worse in protecting private data to him, she just agreed. Jeeez..

I spoke with someone from Privacy Rights Clearing House last week. He recommends a getting a full credit freeze if your info has been compromised.

This will place a lock that keeps anyone from looking into your credit. When you wish to apply for credit, you notify them. It will take about 15 minutes before your potential creditor will be able to get the report.

Depending on your state the cost will vary. In TN, it's $7.50 per freeze and the temporary thaws (if you will) are free.

I keep getting high rates on CC's ... Maybe we need more than one free Credit Report per year with all this abuse.. hmmmm

further screwed... where is the justice?

I worked as a programmer for several years. There is so much bad program code out in the real world that you would not believe it without seeing it and having enough computer knowledge to know that it was bad.

Most of the program code out there qualifies as spaghetti code, and is riddled with bugs. A lot of corporate PC's are riddled with viruses, worms, etc. and have to be constantly disinfected.

Many companies experience serious computer glitches, but they keep it hidden to protect their reputations. Most of it never gets out. They discovered the tape was missing last October, but only recently made it known. They are releasing the information only now because they originally hoped to suppress what happened, but something came up that forced them to make it public. Moreover, it might well be that they pronounced the tape is missing to cover up what really happened to the data.

They may blame individual programmers, or computer operators, or just blame the "computer". What they will never admit what is really the problem, namely, that their entire data processing system stinks.

Always request and keep a paper trail of any transactions you are involved in with any corporation.

If you do anything on line, print a copy for your records. Keep it for at least a couple of years, especially if sizable amounts of money are involved or your credit rating could become at risk. Keep the stuff in a box or drawer that you can access readily.

I have been in situations where some company claimed it wasn't paid and demanded that I send them money. A few phone calls informing them that I did pay them and could send them copies of a receipt or a canceled check was sufficient to put an end to any harassment. (Yes, sometimes it took a couple of calls.)

Data loss, data theft, and data corruption are commonplace in the corporate world. It is a well-kept secret. The proposal to put people's private information on an ID card, and keep so much private information in one place is a computer thief's dream come true.

Why make it necessary for an identity thief to scrounge numerous large databases to produce a profile on one individual. They can just go to the one source to get everything they could want to know about you and hundreds of thousands of other victims in a few seconds. With a few minutes hacking, they could download millions of records of private information.

This data "loss", plus numerous other instances, many of which were never reported, is proof that the people who tell you how secure and accurate they will keep your information are full of rubbish.

There is one more "gotcha" with this idea. You can be assured that the right-wing will "privatize" this system and we all know that any corporation that has access to this much personal data on you is going to sell it to anyone with the right amount of money. Privacy and security will disappear overnight.

One more "gotcha". In his book "IBM and the Holocaust", Edwin Black documents how the Nazis used IBM tabulating equipment to organize the concentration camps. Without this early form of computer database equipment, the Nazis could not have prosecuted their war effort so effectively or massacred so many people.

The right wing has "privatized" much of the prison system and now pushes through a RealID database system for all Americans. Can anyone not imagine where this is going?

work? I tried searching the site but to no avail. Any place else we might read the article?