April 9, 2007

•  

  
  NEWS: TX Attorney General Takes RadioShack to Task

  The Attorney General of the state of Texas, Greg Abbott, took aim this week against Fort Worth-based RadioShack Corporation. Abbott accuses RadioShack of exposing its consumer customers to the risk of identity theft. Per paperwork files by Abbott in conjunction with the case, RadioShack broke a 2005 law that mandates that businesses must safeguard any consumer records that contain potentially vulnerable information, which would include Social Security and bank account numbers.
  
  Authorities associated with the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) found that a Portland RadioShack store may have exposed untold thousands of customers to the risk of identity theft. Investigators found that employees at the store, located just outside Corpus Christi, disposed of sensitive customer records by dumping them en masse in garbage containers behind the retail store. Per the filings the discarded store records contained highly vulnerable consumer information, including Social Security numbers, credit and debit card information, names, addresses, and telephone numbers on transaction receipts and other paperwork.
  
  Those records made available to the media to demonstrate the extent of RadioShack's purported negligence included store credit card applications and names plus addresses of customers on old receipts. Most damnably, a filed application for credit made on behalf of the city of Portland was found among the inappropriately discarded paperwork. City officials have been vocal about their support for Abbott, who is a well-known defender of citizens against identity theft.
  
  
     Back to News Main Page