Union Mortgage loan applicant information found in dumpster
Technorati Tag: Security Breach
Date Reported:
2/22/08, updated on 2/28/08
Organization:
Union Mortgage Services of Cleveland, Inc.
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
None
Victims:
Loan applicants
Number Affected:
Unknown*
*"hundreds of people" including "Thousands of pages of sensitive documents"
Types of Data:
Information that is typically found in loan applications, including bank statements, credit reports, and tax returns.
Breach Description:
Thousands of pages of sensitive loan application information were discovered in a dumpster behind a pizza shop in Cleveland, Ohio. The documents were allegedly discarded by employees of Union Mortgage Services of Cleveland, Inc., which has closed down after failing to pay taxes or failure to file tax returns.
Reference URL:
WKYC-TV News
Report Credit:
WKYC-TV News, by way of Attrition.org
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Thousands of pages of sensitive documents were thrown out in a dumpster located behind a pizza shop at East 105th and Superior in Cleveland.
Confidential files were found on hundreds of people who applied for loans with a company called Union Mortgage, whose last known addresses were in Beachwood and Parma.
[Evan] Union Mortgage Services addresses are/were; 23611 Chagrin Blvd Suite 275 Beachwood, OH 44122 and 1440 Snow Road Suite 118 Parma, OH 44134
Investigator Tom Meyer learned the company closed its doors recently after either failing to pay taxes or file its tax returns
[Evan] Sounds shady for a mortgage company that people trust much of their financial lives with.
Channel 3 News retrieved as many documents as possible and returned them to their rightful owners.
Ken Knabe, a lawyer from Lakewood, was shocked that we had his bank accounts, credit reports, tax returns and other personal information including his social security number. "That's appalling. This is private information in a dumpster,"
Channel 3 News returned files of information on Kim and Edwin Soeder of Mentor, including their retirement accounts. "It makes you wonder how bad your credit rating becomes if people get this in their hands," said Mrs. Soeder.
Ohio Attorney General, Marc Dann, has sued another mortgage company, Randall Mortgage Services, Inc., for allegedly abandoning customers' loan and financial information. Dann says he would take action against Union Mortgage if customers came forward and filed complaints with his office.
[Evan] Attorney General Marc Dann's site has some good information for consumers. To file a complaint, visit http://www.ag.state.oh.us/citizen/consumer/complaints.asp
Dann said businesses that collect personal information are responsible for protecting it just like they would protect their own information.
Commentary:
This is similar to the First Magnus breach reported earlier this month. Similarities include two financially troubled (or bankrupt) loan companies that figured their obligation to protect confidential personal information ceased when they closed the doors. The obligation to protect information entrusted to you only ceases when you transfer custodianship (i.e. return it to the owner, destruction, etc.)
I assume that we will only continue to see more of these types of breaches as more loan companies continue to suffer from today's credit crunch. When I researched Union Mortgage Services for this posting, I had a general sense of uneasiness. The lack of discovered background information and other legitimate references about the company might have made me question whether or not I would have done business with them in the first place. Hindsight is 20/20 they say.
Past Breaches:
Unknown
Date Reported:2/22/08, updated on 2/28/08
Organization:
Union Mortgage Services of Cleveland, Inc.
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
None
Victims:
Loan applicants
Number Affected:
Unknown*
*"hundreds of people" including "Thousands of pages of sensitive documents"
Types of Data:
Information that is typically found in loan applications, including bank statements, credit reports, and tax returns.
Breach Description:
Thousands of pages of sensitive loan application information were discovered in a dumpster behind a pizza shop in Cleveland, Ohio. The documents were allegedly discarded by employees of Union Mortgage Services of Cleveland, Inc., which has closed down after failing to pay taxes or failure to file tax returns.
Reference URL:
WKYC-TV News
Report Credit:
WKYC-TV News, by way of Attrition.org
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Thousands of pages of sensitive documents were thrown out in a dumpster located behind a pizza shop at East 105th and Superior in Cleveland.
Confidential files were found on hundreds of people who applied for loans with a company called Union Mortgage, whose last known addresses were in Beachwood and Parma.
[Evan] Union Mortgage Services addresses are/were; 23611 Chagrin Blvd Suite 275 Beachwood, OH 44122 and 1440 Snow Road Suite 118 Parma, OH 44134
Investigator Tom Meyer learned the company closed its doors recently after either failing to pay taxes or file its tax returns
[Evan] Sounds shady for a mortgage company that people trust much of their financial lives with.
Channel 3 News retrieved as many documents as possible and returned them to their rightful owners.
Ken Knabe, a lawyer from Lakewood, was shocked that we had his bank accounts, credit reports, tax returns and other personal information including his social security number. "That's appalling. This is private information in a dumpster,"
Channel 3 News returned files of information on Kim and Edwin Soeder of Mentor, including their retirement accounts. "It makes you wonder how bad your credit rating becomes if people get this in their hands," said Mrs. Soeder.
Ohio Attorney General, Marc Dann, has sued another mortgage company, Randall Mortgage Services, Inc., for allegedly abandoning customers' loan and financial information. Dann says he would take action against Union Mortgage if customers came forward and filed complaints with his office.
[Evan] Attorney General Marc Dann's site has some good information for consumers. To file a complaint, visit http://www.ag.state.oh.us/citizen/consumer/complaints.asp
Dann said businesses that collect personal information are responsible for protecting it just like they would protect their own information.
Commentary:
This is similar to the First Magnus breach reported earlier this month. Similarities include two financially troubled (or bankrupt) loan companies that figured their obligation to protect confidential personal information ceased when they closed the doors. The obligation to protect information entrusted to you only ceases when you transfer custodianship (i.e. return it to the owner, destruction, etc.)
I assume that we will only continue to see more of these types of breaches as more loan companies continue to suffer from today's credit crunch. When I researched Union Mortgage Services for this posting, I had a general sense of uneasiness. The lack of discovered background information and other legitimate references about the company might have made me question whether or not I would have done business with them in the first place. Hindsight is 20/20 they say.
Past Breaches:
Unknown
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