http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2006/09/21/ftc_hasnt_paid_victims_of_breach_at_choicepoint/ By Associated Press September 21, 2006 ATLANTA -- Nearly eight months after regulators trumpeted a settlement with ChoicePoint Inc. over a data breach, the government has not paid any money to victims from a $5 million fund that was to be set up as part of the agreement. The Federal Trade Commission also has not yet implemented procedures for how the 800 fraud victims it has identified so far can be compensated from the fund, nor has it hired anyone to administer it , said FTC spokeswoman Claudia Bourne Farrell. ``That's under review," Farrell said Tuesday. Responding to an open records request by the Associated Press, Farrell said the commission is trying to develop a plan to distribute the money efficiently. Jessica Rich, assistant director of the FTC's division of privacy and identity theft, said in a statement yesterday that ``law enforcement is still identifying victims, and we want to make sure we have the right people." The disclosure about the money not yet being distributed comes as the president's identity theft task force adopted recommendations on addressing the problem of identity theft. The interim recommendations, released Tuesday and highlighted in an FTC news release, included extending restitution for victims of identity theft and helping victims get easier access to police reports about the misuse of their personal information. Representative Edward J. Markey, Democrat of Massachusetts and a member of the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee who has authored legislation to protect consumers' personal information, said the FTC isn't moving fast enough. Markey said the ``victims should immediately receive the compensation they urgently need to protect themselves from exploitation by identity thieves." He added, ``Further delay is unacceptable." ChoicePoint spokesman Matt Furman said yesterday, ``Our goal has always been to respond to consumers, in whatever state they may live." He added, ``We have full faith that the FTC is working hard to come up with a process to ensure that the money we contributed to help consumers is wisely spent for the benefit of anyone actually affected." ChoicePoint, which collects, sells access to and analyzes information on consumers, agreed Jan. 26 to pay the FTC $15 million to settle claims that its procedures for security and record handling violated consumers' privacy rights when thieves infiltrated the company's massive database. Farrell said she assumes the 800 victims the agency identified would be eligible for payments . The settlement also permitted the FTC to use money from the fund to pay any expenses from administering the fund. Farrell said no expenses have been paid. Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company. _________________________________ Visit the InfoSec News store! http://www.shopinfosecnews.org
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