Rampant Identity Theft in Ohio May Spread to Voter Records.

- Lax Security and Procedures Open up the Potential for Identity Theft -

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- According to new research by Identity Theft 911, the upcoming election in Ohio has emerged as a test case for identity theft as a political issue, and may well serve as a proving ground for how well local governments can safeguard sensitive personal information in the new world of electronic voting. The lead-up to the election has been characterized by a number of scandalous incidents involving security breaches that have put the personal records of tens of thousand of Ohioans at risk for identity theft. The research by Identity Theft 911, an identity theft resolution and education company, has been compiled in an article, "Ohio Board of Elections Loses and Mishandles Voter Data."

Identity Theft 911's findings on the Ohio election complement its newly released white paper, "Analysis of Significant Identity Theft Trends & Crime Patterns in the State of Ohio." This research shows how Ohio epitomizes the trend of rampant identity theft throughout the country.

Identity Theft 911's research details a host of major problems in Cleveland's May primary, including the following: many voting machines were initially misplaced, making them vulnerable to hackers and identity thieves; workers were unable to operate the machines properly; other glitches caused the official vote count to be delayed an entire week. Also, after the voting ended, bags of memory cards, each containing thousands of votes and personal information, were sent from polling places to elections headquarters, unescorted by anyone from the elections bureauCoan egregious breach of security.

Experts are warning that the November election in Ohio may see a repeat of the voting debacle that occurred in the May primary. A review board deemed it "an across-the-board failure to plan and manage the first countywide endeavor in electronic voting."

According to Steven Christenson, president of Identity Theft 911, "Voting and identity are closely related, as verification of the latter ensures the legitimacy of the former. What critics of electronic voting have overlooked from the beginning is the increased risk of identity theft posed by these voting systems. Identity verification is fundamental to legitimate elections, but in this case, major databases of sensitive personal information have been introduced into a system that is obviously flawed."

Ohio-based organizations now providing effective identity theft solutions for their customers through Identity Theft 911 include: Grange Mutual Insurance (Columbus); Westfield Insurance Company (Westfield Center); State Auto Insurance Companies (Columbus); Motorists Insurance Group (Columbus); German Mutual Insurance Co. (Napoleon); Buckeye Insurance Group (Piqua); and Heartland Bank (Gahanna). National firms similar programs include: MetLife Auto & Home, Fireman's Fund, Liberty Mutual, Grinnell Mutual and Chubb Insurance.

The article "Ohio Board of Elections Loses and Mishandles Voter Data" can be found at: http://www.identitytheft911.org/articles/article.ext?sp=739. To view Identity Theft 911's newly released white paper, please visit: http://www.identitytheft911.org/content.do?sp=434.

About Identity Theft 911 ([R])

Identity Theft 911 provides enterprise-level fraud solutions to Fortune 500 companies, including many of America's largest insurers and corporate benefits providers, as well as a wide spectrum of financial institutions, colleges and universities. Identity Theft 911 is the leader in identity theft victim resolution and education, serving more than 7 million households in its retainer-based program. The Company's cutting-edge products include: RB421SM, retainer-based blanket resolution and proactive education; IDR911SM, identity disaster response; SBR911SM, security breach response; and ITA911SM, identity travel assistance. Online Banking Report named Identity Theft 911 one of "the 10 most significant innovations and developments of 2003." For more information, visit www.identitytheft911.com.