Atlanta – Nearly eight months after federal regulators trumpeted a settlement they secured with ChoicePoint Inc. over a data breach, the government has not paid any money to victims from a $5 million fund that was to be set up as part of the agreement.
The Federal Trade Commission also has not yet implemented procedures for how the 800 fraud victims it has identified so far can apply for and receive compensation from the fund, nor has it hired anyone to administer the fund on behalf of the agency, said FTC spokeswoman Claudia Bourne Farrell.
Jessica Rich, assistant director of the FTC’s division of privacy and identity theft, said in a statement released to the AP on Wednesday that “law enforcement is still identifying victims, and we want to make sure we have the right people.”
The disclosure about the money not yet being distributed comes as the President’s Identity Theft Task Force adopted interim recommendations on addressing the problem of identity theft.
The interim recommendations, announced Tuesday and highlighted in an FTC news release, included extending restitution for victims of identity theft and helping victims get easier access to police reports about the misuse of their personal information.
Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., a member of the House Telecommunications and Internet Subcommittee who has authored legislation to protect consumers’ personal information, criticized the FTC for not moving fast enough.
Alpharetta, Ga.-based ChoicePoint, which collects, sells access to and analyzes information on consumers, agreed Jan. 26 to pay the FTC $15 million – a record $10 million fine and $5 million for the victims’ fund – to settle charges that the company’s security and record-handling procedures violated consumers’ privacy rights when thieves infiltrated the company’s massive database.
