Experian Social Security Info Falls into a Hacker’s Lap
Online scams are a dime a dozen. We all fall for them. First, you’re browsing the web for a cheap pair of sneakers you can have delivered to your home; the next thing you know you have a mail-order bride and have to pay the bride’s child support and alimony. We know. It happens.
But what happens when a trusted company like credit-checking bureau Experian falls for one (a scam, not a mail-order bride, we mean)?
Heiu Ming Ngo, a Vietnamese hacker and operator of SuperGet.info, tricked Experian into selling him valid social security numbers. When cyber security investigative blogger Brian Krebs approached Experian about this matter they replied with this statement:
“Experian acquired Court Ventures in March 2012 because of its national public records database. After the acquisition, the US Secret Service notified Experian that Court Ventures had been and was continuing to resell data from US Info Search to a third party possibly engaged in illegal activity. Following notice by the US Secret Service, Experian discontinued reselling US Info Search data and worked closely and in full cooperation with law enforcement to bring Vietnamese national Hieu Minh Ngo, the alleged perpetrator, to justice. Experian’s credit files were not accessed. Because of the ongoing federal investigation, we are not free to say anything further at this time.”
To read more visit USA Today. Contact a trusted Orange County social security attorney today.
Kenneth G. Marks has been practicing personal injury law since he was admitted to the California Bar in 1981. www.KmarksLaw.com