Fingers Pointed at ChoicePoint

A Georgia firm that maintains one of the largest consumer credit databases in the country has admitted to releasing records on thousands of individuals to identity theft scammers.

ChoicePoint Inc., Alpharetta, Ga., has reportedly sent letters to 35,000 Californians whose lending and credit information may have been improperly disclosed. What is not yet known is how many consumers in other states may have been affected, since only California has a law requiring the notification.

A sheriff’s deputy in Los Angeles has told the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph that as many as 400,000 consumers may have been affected by the ChoicePoint disclosures.

Investigators have identified as many as 50 bogus accounts that were established with ChoicePoint by identity theft rings that posed as business owners seeking personal credit information.

One California man, who faxed a request to open a ChoicePoint account from a FedEx Kinko’s location, has been arrested. Authorities there believe there were many others involved in the fraud case.

The Los Angeles County sheriff’s department has said it knows of about 765 instances of financial charges being made to consumer accounts by the ring that accessed ChoicePoint’s records.

ChoicePoint maintains a database of personal financial information, to which it offers customizable access or prepares reports for companies and government agencies. The company says it is strengthening its screening procedures as a result of the incident.