WESTLAW identity search/theft - related to ChoicePoint scandal

[paineinthearse]

Live on CSPAN - Senator Schumer is describing a law firm that with a subscription, anyone's identity can be determined. Qualification is to be a member of the government agency or a private company.

No background check, no need to know.

Claims his office found social security numbers, home addresses, etc for 95% of all they tried, including himself, Pataki, Ashcroft, Cheney.

Spoke to company owner, asked to cease and decist. No action in two weeks.

Westlas's lawfirm is Holland & Knight. Blew Schumer off.

Has asked AG to investigate.

More about Schumer press conference to follow......

==================================


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[paineinthearse]

1. WESTLAW is owned by Thompson Corp of Canada

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000082&sid=aLhjsj4kioN8&refer=canada#

Thomson Fourth-Quarter Profit Rises 11%, Helped by Acquisitions
Feb. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Thomson Corp., owner of the Westlaw legal-research and First Call financial data services, said its fourth-quarter profit rose 11 percent, helped by acquisitions. Net income increased to $438 million, or 67 cents a share, from $396 million, or 60 cents, a year earlier, the Toronto-based company said in a PR Newswire statement. Sales rose 9.2 percent to $2.33 billion.

Chief Executive Richard Harrington last year spent $1.5 billion on acquisitions such as TradeWeb Group LLC, an electronic bond-trading service, toward a goal of increasing sales 7 percent to 9 percent.
Thomson shares rose 60 cents to C$44 yesterday on the Toronto Stock Exchange and were up 4.1 percent this year.

Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, competes with Thomson in selling financial news and information.

To contact the reporter on this story:
Cecile Daurat in New York at [e-mail].

To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Emma Moody at [e-mail].

Last Updated: February 10, 2005 07:53 EST

[paineinthearse]

2. Congress to delve into identity protection following ChoicePoint scandal

http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/politics/10981640.htm

Posted on Thu, Feb. 24, 2005

Congress to delve into identity protection following ChoicePoint scandal

JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A congressional committee will hold hearings on identity theft and information brokers following the revelation that personal data on millions of people was stolen from ChoicePoint Inc.'s databanks, a top Republican said Thursday. Democrats, including Sens. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Dianne Feinstein of California and Charles Schumer of New York, have been calling for a Senate Judiciary Committee inquiry into whether more regulation of companies that buy and sell personal data is needed.

"I got a letter from Sen. Leahy yesterday on identity theft issue and I immediately said we can hold a hearing," said Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa. Specter did not give a schedule for the hearings.

Formed in 1997 as a spinoff of credit reporting agency Equifax Inc., ChoicePoint has 19 billion public records in its database at its suburban Atlanta headquarters, including motor vehicle registrations, license and deed transfers, military records, names, addresses and Social Security numbers.

It revealed last week that thieves apparently used previously stolen identities to open ChoicePoint accounts and received volumes of data on consumers, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers and credit reports. The ring operated for more than a year before it was detected and used the information to defraud at least 750 people, investigators said.

more.....

[aden_nak]

3. I'm an IT guy in a law office. Westlaw is a kids' toy compared to Accurint

No, seriously.

http://www.accurint.com/

What I've seen one of our contractors do with this site is just plain scary.

[kk897]

7. @#@#%*(&&#! That's LexisNexis! See my sig line!

What We Do
Accurint® is a LexisNexis® service that brings data to life. Accurint provides information products that allow organizations to quickly and easily extract valuable knowledge from huge amounts of data. These innovative products are made possible by integrating powerful technology, tens of billions of data records on individuals and businesses, and patent-pending data-linking methods.

LexisNexis
Backed by more than 30 years of expertise in data management, LexisNexis is a leading innovator in validating and verifying identity. LexisNexis products and services help make intelligent hiring decisions, uncover fraudulent transactions, prevent identity theft, find missing children, track down terrorists, and prosecute white collar criminals.

For Additional Information:
For a product demonstration and a free trial call 1-888-332-8244. Accurint is a non-FCRA verification source.

http://www.accurint.com/aboutus.html

[aden_nak]

8. Listen, it's ONE HELL of a great service.

And I've had plenty of jobs where LexisNexis made otherwise impossible research projects go smoothly. As a person-tracking system, though, Accurint is so effective it's scary. That's what I'm trying to say here, man. I used to do the website design for a bounty hunter, and his favorite phrase was "Just Acc the little fucker."

The point I am trying to make is that any system that collects, organizes, and otherwise structures vast amounts of data about individuals can be very useful. Or, if a similar system used improperly (say, by a federal agency), it can be mind-blowingly scary.

[kk897]

9. Exactly, aden_nak!

That's why I've gotten so freaked out about the Right wing connection to LN. How easy it would be to simply wipe out a record that's just... inconvenient, for political reasons.

[realFedUp]

4. I kick for real news.

oy.

[paineinthearse]

6. westlaw

Started a new thread leading off with Schumer press release - please re-post your comment at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3170867#

thanks

[paineinthearse]

5. NEW THREAD STARTED

If you posted here, please re-post at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3170867#

Do not add to this thread.

thanks

[mvd]

10. Locking at author's request

DU Moderator