Wed, Aug 09, 2006
Repeat After Me -- AOPA IS Watching Out For You...
Phil Boyer was kind
enough to send ANN advance notice about a breaking news story that
could affect the financial health of a number of our aviation
brethren... especially down here in Florida.
AOPA has put out an alert to Florida pilots to be on the watch
for identity theft.
Yup... Identity Theft.
That's because a government laptop computer that includes the
names, addresses, and social security numbers of some 42,800 pilots
living in Florida was recently stolen. That personal information
could be used without your permission to commit fraud or other
crimes. You could be hit with huge credit card bills or damage to
your credit rating.
To protect yourself, you may want to contact any one of the
three credit reporting companies to place a fraud alert on your
credit report. You should also be wary of any phone calls or
e-mails from someone claiming to be an FAA or other government
official asking for personal information.
You can find more information on protecting yourself from
identity theft on the Federal Trade Commission's ID Theft Web site
(www.consumer.gov/idtheft/).
The stolen laptop
belonged to a special agent with the Department of Transportation's
Office of the Inspector General investigating the use of fraudulent
information to obtain pilot certificates or commercial drivers'
licenses.
The password-protected databases in the laptop include
personally identifiable information including individuals' names,
addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, and pilot
certificate numbers. Even if your pilot certificate number is NOT
your social security number, your social security number is still
in the database.
The laptop was stolen July 27 from a government vehicle in
Doral, Florida. The Department of Transportation thinks the thief
was after the computer, not the data. DOT will be sending affected
parties official notice of the theft soon.
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