We are continuously told that this information is not shared with any one and that our customers should be assured that they are safe sharing this information with us. This kind of thing not only affects Choice Point but also our agencies. Nothing is ever safe, it would seem.
From letters we have recieved from our insurance companies, we have been told that it was not insurance connected data that was stolen. Can anyone verify this?
I am going to answer to all previously stated comments.
1. I really do believe there has to be an insider. It is not everyday that you hear about the fact that a Nigerian ethnicity is stressed, in two seperate incidents and I presume both incidents occurred in the same state. Spitzer, where are you?
2. There are letters available for each company. My company Mercury has info from Choicepoint that states that no insurer info was compromised. I find that personally hard to believe as it seems their whole database was hacked. I personally believe this is going to result in some legislation with regards to outlawing the use of someone’s credit when it comes to insurance.
3. I see this as the beginning of the demise of credit scoring as an underwriting tool. I see class-action lawsuit on the horizon, against Choicepoint itself, although there might be some backlash against the companies as well. I guarantee there will be something in the coming months out of Madison County, IL.
I certainly hope ChoicePoint will be proactive in correcting their information for those whose data were stolen from them and used in ID theft. A few years ago, my brother-in-law turned 18 and started applying for things, only to find out his credit rating was ruined by someone who had stolen his social security number years before. My inlaws had to hire a lawyer and spend months to get ChoicePoint to agree to investigate and correct the information.
This little experience happened right when I was starting to look at credit scoring and see that it was soon going to become a hot issue. While I do agree it is a useful tool, I also see that the data is vulnerable enough to errors and abuse that I think the trends to try to limit scoring in insurance is going to continue.
Don’t know if they’re connected???? Come on. I would be looking to see if there is an insider.
We are continuously told that this information is not shared with any one and that our customers should be assured that they are safe sharing this information with us. This kind of thing not only affects Choice Point but also our agencies. Nothing is ever safe, it would seem.
From letters we have recieved from our insurance companies, we have been told that it was not insurance connected data that was stolen. Can anyone verify this?
I hope companies will hold their agents
As the data base is corrupted, the validity of credit scoring is undermined.
I am going to answer to all previously stated comments.
1. I really do believe there has to be an insider. It is not everyday that you hear about the fact that a Nigerian ethnicity is stressed, in two seperate incidents and I presume both incidents occurred in the same state. Spitzer, where are you?
2. There are letters available for each company. My company Mercury has info from Choicepoint that states that no insurer info was compromised. I find that personally hard to believe as it seems their whole database was hacked. I personally believe this is going to result in some legislation with regards to outlawing the use of someone’s credit when it comes to insurance.
3. I see this as the beginning of the demise of credit scoring as an underwriting tool. I see class-action lawsuit on the horizon, against Choicepoint itself, although there might be some backlash against the companies as well. I guarantee there will be something in the coming months out of Madison County, IL.
I certainly hope ChoicePoint will be proactive in correcting their information for those whose data were stolen from them and used in ID theft. A few years ago, my brother-in-law turned 18 and started applying for things, only to find out his credit rating was ruined by someone who had stolen his social security number years before. My inlaws had to hire a lawyer and spend months to get ChoicePoint to agree to investigate and correct the information.
This little experience happened right when I was starting to look at credit scoring and see that it was soon going to become a hot issue. While I do agree it is a useful tool, I also see that the data is vulnerable enough to errors and abuse that I think the trends to try to limit scoring in insurance is going to continue.
Who checked the DL of the people that were doing the ordering???????
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