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Home mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp. has notified some local residents, warning them that their personal information, including Social Security number, allegedly was stolen from its files and may have been sold.
As many as 2 million customers may have had their information stolen in one of the largest identity theft cases, the FBI has said.
“Based on a joint investigation conducted by Countrywide and law enforcement authorities, it was determined that the customer information involved in this incident included your name, address, Social Security number, mortgage loan number and various other loan and applicant information,” the letter read.
The company promised to take “necessary precautions” to monitor the customer’s account and offered complimentary credit monitoring services for two years.
The letter was received by customers including Virginia Moran of Grass Valley, who said she “almost blew it off” at first.
But after contacting her brother, who is a fraud detective in Ohio, she was persuaded to contact all the people who handle her house and finances.
Identity theft is a growing national problem. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year.
“People need to look at their credit reports even if they don’t get an alert,” said credit consultant Jay Broderick in Sacramento, who also advised Moran to check her financial house thoroughly.
“People’s lives have been ruined for 10 years with recurring information” that keeps popping up on computers that is no longer true or was false to begin with, Broderick added.
The problem with stolen identify information is that “you don’t know who else got the information,” after the initial heist, he said. “You have to watch it for the rest of your life.”
He said California’s identity theft laws protect residents better than federal statutes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
As many as 2 million customers may have had their information stolen in one of the largest identity theft cases, the FBI has said.
“Based on a joint investigation conducted by Countrywide and law enforcement authorities, it was determined that the customer information involved in this incident included your name, address, Social Security number, mortgage loan number and various other loan and applicant information,” the letter read.
The company promised to take “necessary precautions” to monitor the customer’s account and offered complimentary credit monitoring services for two years.
The letter was received by customers including Virginia Moran of Grass Valley, who said she “almost blew it off” at first.
But after contacting her brother, who is a fraud detective in Ohio, she was persuaded to contact all the people who handle her house and finances.
Identity theft is a growing national problem. The Federal Trade Commission estimates that as many as 9 million Americans have their identities stolen each year.
“People need to look at their credit reports even if they don’t get an alert,” said credit consultant Jay Broderick in Sacramento, who also advised Moran to check her financial house thoroughly.
“People’s lives have been ruined for 10 years with recurring information” that keeps popping up on computers that is no longer true or was false to begin with, Broderick added.
The problem with stolen identify information is that “you don’t know who else got the information,” after the initial heist, he said. “You have to watch it for the rest of your life.”
He said California’s identity theft laws protect residents better than federal statutes.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
