Red Cross Identity Theft Alert
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By Peter Shinkle
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St. Louis Post-Dispatch
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05/20/2006
Blood Donors Targeted By Identity Theft
A former Red Cross employee in St. Louis has been
accused of stealing the identities of three blood donors and using
them to commit fraud, prompting the federal government to create a
toll-free number for blood donors nationwide to report possible
fraud.
The agency originally believed that the suspect in this case had
access to information on about 8,000 people, and on March 17 sent
letters to warn them. However, authorities announced on
their hotline Friday, that the accused woman had access to the
social security numbers and other personal identifying information
of as many as 1 million blood donors in Missouri, Illinois and
Kansas. |
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U.S. Attorney Catherine Hanaway said Ladue officers
alerted the Secret Service and Postal Inspection Service, which joined
the case. The investigators' toll-free number is 1-866-908-7747.
"We are hoping that victims will come forward and report what has
happened to them," Hanaway said. She said blood donors should
check their credit reports before calling. The Red Cross is offering
to reimburse donors if they are charged for a credit report before
June 30. To seek reimbursement, donors should call 1-800-728-4715.
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After officials discovered two weeks ago that there
was access to the larger database, the Red Cross and federal
officials decided to launch a broader campaign to alert donors,
including the toll-free number and advertisements in newspapers,
Williams said.
Williams said the episode prompted the Red Cross to speed up a
timetable for changing its software to limit access to Social
Security numbers of donors. That was done Monday, he said.
The Red Cross had asked for Social Security numbers as a "unique
identifier." It became optional 10 years ago. Said Hanaway,
"If I were a new donor, I would not provide my Social Security
number." |
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Red Cross Identity Theft News
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