The terrifying ChoicePoint scandal

I'm not sure how much coverage the ChoicePoint story is getting out there in the MSM, but it's big news in Atlanta where the credit reporting company is headquartered--and it affects at least 145,000 people and possibly up to a half million or more.

Here's the AJC's latest report--on how they're (finally) going to deal with this astonishing breach. Some highlights:

ChoicePoint said it is almost done notifying by mail the 144,778 people that may have been affected. California authorities say as many as 500,000 people may have been affected, but ChoicePoint disputes that number.

...

The company acknowledged last week that thieves apparently used previously stolen identities to create what appeared to be legitimate businesses seeking ChoicePoint accounts. The bandits then opened up 50 accounts and received volumes of data on consumers, including names, addresses, Social Security numbers and credit reports.

The ring, which operated for more than a year before it was detected, used the information to defraud at least 750 people, according to investigators in California.