What organization or company phone number to call when your identity is stolen?

The ChoicePoint ID theft scandal resonated through Congress this week with calls for hearings, investigations and new legislation to better protect the information collected by private data brokers.

Last week, ChoicePoint said it had been a victim of a criminal fraud in which the company was duped into releasing personal data on approximately 145,000 U.S. citizens in all 50 states.

Demand for financial, personal data mounts

By Lorene Yue
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 27, 2005

Identity theft has been called the fastest-growing crime in the nation, but experts say the cops have a long way to go to catch up with the robbers.

"Ultimately, you cannot prevent ID theft from happening to you; that's the sad situation," said Beth Givens, director of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a consumer advocacy group based in San Diego. "Don't panic, but yes, just assume that your information can get into the hands of anybody."

Thousands of consumers became vulnerable to identity theft this month when ChoicePoint Inc., an information clearinghouse based in Georgia, disclosed that thieves circumvented its credentialing process and gained access to its database of 19 million records.