this may well be true, but now choicepoint, in a year when they posted record profits, may have unwittingly given YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION to identity thieves. the story has recently been covered in the mainstream media, but has been downplayed, and the problems that choicepoint poses for america (and, indeed, the world), have been largely ignored.
as was predicted by investigative journalist greg palast in his book, "the best democracy money can buy", choicepoint and companies like it have become models in the "revamping" of america's elections process. choicepoint reported 16 percent growth for 2004 over the previous year, with total fourth quarter revenue of 232.5 million dollars. this billion dollar a year corporation received a generous bid from florida in 2000, and with the money rolling in, they decided to make even more profit by cutting corners. in that election, according to palast, they didn't even do most of the accounting and mathematical work that they were legally bound to do by the state. bush didn't seem to mind of course.
and now, they have failed to protect your personal information from identity thieves. according to choicepoint's own website, this fall, a group of identity thieves posed as a legitimate business and gained access to the personal information of approximately 35,000 california residents. it is not known how many people in other states were affected, as california is the only state that requires disclosure to the consumers after such a security breach. choicepoint has no desire to release this information and continues to say that law enforcement agencies won't allow them to release the relevant information. this seems awfully convenient and irresponsible for a billion dollar corporation.
the only advice given is to keep an eye on your personal accounts and credit information, to make sure no mysterious charges appear.
thus far, choicepoint has screwed up twice (that i know about), and only received generous contracts while the government secures the homeland from the outside, and fleeces it from the inside. i've had enough of choicepoint...and their blunders need to be made public. their latest mistake may affect you.
let's do something before it gets even worse!
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