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Online records raise identity theft concerns

Counties weigh privacy issues against public's right to access data


After finding his driver's license number on a Collin County record posted on the Web, Tony Mabes, who works for an Internet security firm, warned officials of the dangers of online files.


12:00 AM CDT on Friday, August 11, 2006

By ED HOUSEWRIGHT / The Dallas Morning News

Identity theft terrifies you.

So you guard your Social Security number. Shred sensitive documents. Check your credit card activity. Delete suspicious e-mails.

You may feel safe, but an identity thief could still wreck your life by surfing through online records that once were available only at the county courthouse.

These photographic images of deeds, divorce settlements, tax liens and bankruptcies – particularly older records – may contain Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, and credit card and bank account information.

"It's terrible what might be in there," said Dallas County Administrator Allen Clemson.

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Online Records vs. Personal Privacy (.pdf)
Now, county officials in Texas and around the country are evaluating yet another trade-off created by technology: Does the public convenience of online government records outweigh the individual's need for financial privacy?

Some counties are deleting sensitive data from online documents but keeping it on original courthouse records.

The theory is that identity thieves are less likely to show themselves in a public office. They're more comfortable with the anonymity of sitting at home on the computer.

Other counties have begun charging for online records to discourage casual snoops. Still others provide all public documents for free without alteration.

"There's a delicate balance," said Denton County Clerk Cynthia Mitchell. "I'm highly sensitive to the issue of personal information being in the public record."

The National Governors Association recently warned states that identity theft from online documents is a "growing threat."

"For example, a public court record for a divorce proceeding may contain information such as addresses, dates of birth, credit information, Social Security numbers, and spouse's and children's information," according to a governor's association report.

Court records also are at issue.

The Texas Supreme Court is studying recommendations from an advisory group to regulate access to online public civil and criminal court records containing sensitive information.

Other states also are looking at ways to protect personal identifying information from full public view, said Linda Foley of the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center in San Diego.

"It's a hot topic," she said. "There is a movement around the country to look at truncating specific information – Social Security numbers, financial account numbers. It would be available on a need-to-know basis."

Some experts, however, think the fears are overblown.

Identity thieves aren't likely to troll through county documents in hopes of stumbling onto personal data, said Joel White, an Austin media attorney.

"Nobody has ever documented a single case of identity theft, as far as I know, using deed records," said Mr. White, a board member of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas. "People do identity theft by going through your garbage. If people want to steal your credit card number, they can do it at the store when you hand your card to a clerk or waiter.

"I'm not saying identity theft isn't a problem. I'm just saying nobody has ever shown Internet identity theft to be a problem."

Tell that to Erica Levi Zelinger.

Ms. Zelinger, who works for a television production company in Philadelphia, opened an online PayPal account, which included a credit card number for billing.

PayPal e-mailed her to confirm a purchase that she had not made. It seems that a thief had broken into her account, then rang up more than $600 in purchases on her credit card.

"I felt pretty violated for a while," said Ms. Zelinger, 27. "I felt like I needed to watch my every move."

Admittedly, the thief did not find Ms. Zelinger's personal information on government records. And she was lucky to discover how she was victimized.


BRIAN HARKIN / Special Contributor
After finding his driver's license number on a Collin County record posted on the Web, Tony Mabes, who works for an Internet security firm, warned officials of the dangers of online files. Tony Mabes is concerned about becoming a victim.

Mr. Mabes, who works for an Internet security firm in Richardson, recently discovered his driver's license number on an online Collin County property record.

"I was rather appalled," said Mr. Mabes, 55. "I decided something needed to be done about it."

He e-mailed county officials, complaining about the availability of personal information on Internet records.

To make his point, he found Collin County Commissioner Jerry Hoagland's Social Security number on an online county record and e-mailed it to him.

"I said, 'Whoa,' " Mr. Hoagland said. "I didn't know that was on there. If we can take it offline, I'd like to do that. I'd like to protect people's identity, obviously."

Collin County Clerk Brenda Taylor balked at removing any information from public records – either on paper or online. She's not alone among her colleagues.

Fort Bend County Clerk Dianne Wilson also doesn't alter online records. She has asked the Texas Attorney General whether she can legally remove Social Security numbers, but the office has not issued an opinion.

"The Internet has opened up new ways of doing business, and the law is still very much in the paper days," Dr. Wilson said.

Other clerks interpret the law differently.

In June, constituent complaints prompted Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir to take her office records off the Internet. She will remove Social Security numbers and then put the documents back on the Web.

But there's a downside, Ms. DeBeauvoir said.

"You're affecting people's businesses and commerce," she said. "The question was, how much do we compromise access to public records to protect somebody's personal identity information?"

Title companies and lending institutions rely heavily on online property records. And they worry about any new restrictions on access. How far, they wonder, might those restrictions go?

"Some industry observers see a 'perfect storm' of forces converging, threatening the title industry's traditional access to the very records it needs to do its job," according to a publication of the American Land Title Association.

Mr. Mabes, whose business is Internet security, believes that public records should be posted online, but without sensitive data.

"The problem with accessibility to the Internet is that it's ubiquitous for the entire world," he said. "There's the potential for harm to innocent people for the convenience of somebody else."