Monday, June 11, 2007
Attorney General Abbott Reaches Agreement to Protect Check 'n Go Customers from Identity Theft
Temporary injunction requires Check ‘n Go to immediately improve document disposal process
EL PASO – Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott today reached an agreement with CNG Financial Corporation and its subsidiaries, Check ‘n Go of Texas, Inc. and Southwestern & Pacific Specialty Finance, Inc., which protects customers from identity theft.
Under an agreed temporary injunction obtained by the Attorney General this morning, Check ‘n Go has 24 hours to enact measures that will protect sensitive personal and financial information contained in customer records. The agreement, which governs how Check ‘n Go stores dispose of customer records, implements an interim process that will protect consumers from the risk of identity theft while the Attorney General continues moving forward with this case.
“Identity theft is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States,” Attorney General Abbott said. “This agreement requires Check ‘n Go to better safeguard their customers’ critical personal information. Texans can rest assured that the Office of the Attorney General will continue aggressively enforcing laws that protect consumers from identity theft.”
Under the interim process imposed by today’s agreement, all Check ‘n Go employees must deposit customer records that are no longer needed in a secure, nonpublic container for pickup by a third-party disposal company.
The temporary injunction also requires Check ‘n Go to provide store managers with written instructions for implementing the interim process. Signs must be posted to inform employees of the interim disposal system, and the defendants must also designate a corporate employee or third-party provider to whom store employees can anonymously report violations of the interim process and other privacy policies.
The Office of the Attorney General took legal action against the defendants in May after discovering that several Check ‘n Go stores exposed customers to identity theft by discarding business records in easily accessible trash cans. According to the Attorney General’s enforcement action, the records included financial records and bank statements that contained names, addresses, Social Security and driver’s license numbers, and checking account information.
The Office of the Attorney General is investigating whether any exposed data has been used by identity thieves. Consumers who interacted with Check ‘n Go stores should carefully monitor bank, credit card and any similar financial statements for evidence of suspicious activity. Customers should also obtain free copies of their credit reports.
Consumers who wish to file a complaint may contact the Office of the Attorney General at (800) 252-8011 or do so online at www.oag.state.tx.us, where they can also obtain information on identity theft detection and prevention.
In recent weeks, Attorney General Abbott has taken legal action against six entities to protect Texans from the threat of identity theft. Last month, EZPAWN and EZMONEY Loan Services agreed to a similar interim process after the Attorney General’s investigators found business records, including promissory notes and bank statements, that contained customers’ sensitive information dumped in easily accessible trash bins.
In April, Attorney General Abbott took legal action against CVS/pharmacy and RadioShack Corporation for exposing hundreds of customers to identity theft by failing to properly dispose of records that contained sensitive information. In March, the Attorney General filed an enforcement action against Jones Beauty College in Dallas for improperly discarding student financial aid forms with Social Security numbers and other personal information. Also in March, Attorney General Abbott took legal action against On Track Modeling, a North Carolina-based talent agency that abruptly shut down its Grand Prairie office and abandoned more than 60 boxes containing hundreds of confidential client records.
