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Contact Info Sent Out In Verizon Slipup
Doug Caverly
Staff Writer
2006-08-28
 Insider Reports RSS Feed
The contact information of about 5,000 Verizon Wireless customers was recently leaked. Except that "leaked" is too passive a word - the data was actually e-mailed to roughly 1,800 individuals. This appears to have been a mistake, however, and not the result of a malicious act.
CNET reported on the corporate goof, and later received an e-mail from the company. "Verizon Wireless takes the security, confidentiality and integrity of your personal information very seriously, and we deeply regret this error," the statement read.
Verizon has endured criticism lately over a surcharge it created to replace government fees. It's unlikely that anyone dropped the service over a $1.20 (or $2.70, depending on the plan), but this security breach is sure to raise a few eyebrows.
The leaked information was, at least, limited to the "names, e-mail addresses, cell phone numbers and cell phone models" of the customers, all of whom "have Motorola Razr phones," according to Joris Evers's CNET article.
Frank Donley, a Verizon customer, spoke to Evers. "Someone just got incredibly careless sending out a sales e-mail," he said. "With all the privacy incidents you read about recently, I should feel relieved that my credit card number, Social Security number or some other secure info wasn't released."
Verizon tried to calm its customers, claiming that "the information in the document is limited and does not immediately expose those listed to fraud," according to Evers. "Yet it recommends that people affected review their bills more carefully and add a password to their account by calling 1-866-861-5096."
Tag: Verizon
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About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for SecurityProNews, InternetFinancialNews, SearchNewz, and WebProNews.
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