Stolen Laptop Puts Financial Accounts At Risk (Ameriprise Financial)

[henslee]

More than 7,000 North Texans are among 156,000 Americans who have had their private accounts with Ameriprise Financial compromised by a stolen laptop.

Ameriprise, headquartered in central Minnesota, was formerly American Express Financial, and acording to the company, the stolen laptop held names and account numbers of clients.

http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_025161957.html

[Mabus]

1. need the .html at the end

http://cbs11tv.com/topstories/local_story_025161957.html

(CBS 11 News) NORTH TEXAS More than 7,000 North Texans are among 156,000 Americans who have had their private accounts with Ameriprise Financial compromised by a stolen laptop.

Ameriprise, headquartered in central Minnesota, was formerly American Express Financial, and acording to the company, the stolen laptop held names and account numbers of clients.

Many American Express clients began moving and transferring acccounts when the company reorganized and renamed itself Ameriprise last year. It is these people who are at risk, and the company began notifying them by mail last Saturday.

The letter insists only the names of clients and their account numbers were stolen, and that's not enough for someone else to close out an account. It adds that there was no other identity information compromised, such as numbers for social security, passports, or drivers' licenses.

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

2. Idiots

Have these morons never heard of encryption? Jeez, you'd think someone responsible for someone else's finances would at least password protect their Quickbooks file (which, thanks to software I have, I could discover in about three seconds, but STILL...)...

[bainz]

3. Encryption?

I could not find any information in the article presented by the OP that states that the data was unencrypted or in Quickbooks format. Was it?

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

4. Just foolish assumption on my part.

Not in the article.

[bainz]

5. no worries

I was just trying to be snide before bedtime....and just because the article doesn't say it, doesn't mean your assumption was that foolish.

[barbaraann]

6. Ameriprise Notifies Clients of Data Theft (similar theft in Portland)

Ameriprise Notifies Clients of Data Theft

By STEVE KARNOWSKI, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 26, 12:55 AM ET

MINNEAPOLIS - Ameriprise Financial Inc. said Wednesday it has notified about 226,000 people that their names and other personal data were stored on a laptop computer that was stolen from an employee's vehicle.
...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ameriprise_stolen_data


The Oregonian
365,000 lose health files to thief
Providence data - Critics question safeguards after a car burglar steals the records of home services patients
Thursday, January 26, 2006

JOE ROJAS-BURKE
and JOSEPH ROSE

Medical privacy advocates expressed horror over Providence Health System's revelation Wednesday that a car thief had walked away with the medical records of 365,000 patients across Oregon and Washington.
...
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/113824771311150.xml&coll=7


Is it normal for huge amounts of sensitive personal data to be handled with no thought of security or is it time for me to put on my tin foil hat?

[Name removed]

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