ChoicePoint to Rescreen 17,000 Business Customers

ChoicePoint Inc., under fire for being duped into allowing criminals to access its massive database of personal information, said Monday that consumers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories may have been affected by the breach of the company's credentialing process. The data warehouser also announced plans to rescreen 17,000 business customers to make sure they are legitimate.

The Alpharetta, GA-based company said it has hired a retired Secret Service agent to help revamp its verification process. It also has paid for a one-year subscription to a credit monitoring service for each of the 144,778 people that may have been affected by the breach.

The company said the smallest number of possible victims — two — was in the U.S. Virgin Islands, while the largest number — 34,114 — was in California. It released a state-by-state breakdown late Monday. People in Puerto Rico and Guam also may have been affected.

ChoicePoint said it is almost done notifying by mail all of the potential victims. California authorities have said as many as 500,000 people may have been affected, but ChoicePoint disputes that number.

"All I can tell you is our number is roughly 145,000, and we know that we're over-notifying," ChoicePoint marketing director James Lee said. "There will be duplications in there."

Last week, attorneys general in 38 states demanded ChoicePoint inform all affected consumers that they might vulnerable to identity theft amid concerns the company was foot-dragging. Politicians have also become involved, with two U.S. senators calling for hearings and stepped-up regulations to protect consumers.

For this complete story, please visit ChoicePoint to Rescreen 17,000 Business Customers.

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