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Personal data is reported stolen

A St. Petersburg firm says a fired worker sold info to marketers.

By Times wires
Published July 4, 2007

JACKSONVILLE - A check-authorizing company said Tuesday that credit, bank account and other personal information on 2.3-million consumers had been stolen, but none of the data were used for identity theft or other financial fraud.

The report from Fidelity National Information Services unit Certegy Check Services Inc., which is based in St. Petersburg, is the latest case of data theft that has troubled corporations, the federal government and universities. Fidelity National Information Services is not related to Fidelity Investments, the nation's largest mutual fund company.

Court documents filed in a civil case in St. Petersburg allege that a former employee, William G. Sullivan, sold the information to data broker Jam Marketing, which then sold it to several direct marketing companies.

Certegy said that the broker and the direct marketing companies were not aware that the information had been stolen.

About 2.2-million records stolen from Certegy contained bank account information, and 99,000 had credit card information.

"The consumers affected received marketing solicitations from the companies that bought the data," said Renz Nichols, president of Certegy, which helps merchants decide whether to accept checks. "We believe that is the extent of any damage to the public."

John Joyce, a spokesman for the U.S. Secret Service in Tampa, said "on the surface it appears that way."

"We are looking at what happened and assisting Certegy in determining if there are more layers to this," Joyce said. "Once we have done a thorough investigation, we will determine what happened and what charges are appropriate."

Certegy will notify all affected consumers of the theft and has contacted major credit agencies as a precaution, Nichols said.

Certegy said it did not expect the theft to affect its earnings.

Company officials said they had contacted the data broker and the marketing companies, and believed they would be able to get the data back and prevent its future use. Certegy has asked a court in St. Petersburg to order the companies to do the same.

Listed phone numbers for Sullivan and Jam Marketing could not be located.

Sullivan, a senior database administrator who had worked for the company for seven years, was fired. Nichols characterized him as a "rogue and dishonest employee." He said the company will seek civil penalties against Sullivan and wants criminal charges filed against him.

[Last modified July 3, 2007, 23:04:33]