Counties could be ID theft source

07:55 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 3, 2005

By Shern-Min Chow / 11 News

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Identity theft is a growing concern and each day there are countless tales of data being stolen or misused.

KHOU-TV

Stacks of county records are online for your convenience. They are also sources for ID theft.

One source of sensitive information is a place you might never expect, and it's easily accessible from a computer.

Using the Internet puts once cumbersome searches for information merely a keystroke away. Even actual court documents are available online. That is both convenient and potentially dangerous.

For example, at the Fort Bend County Clerk's Web site, probate records include Social Security numbers for the living and deceased, home addresses and the value of an estate.

Misdemeanor criminal probation records include that information, plus drivers licenses.

"I was not aware of that at all. From the cop's point of view, that's bad news and a lot more work for us," says HPD officer Ricky Campbell.

Campbell is with HPD's financial crimes unit and knows the potential for problems with ID theft. "With just a Social Security number alone, you can actually take over someone's identity and spend a large amount of money," Campbell says.

So why is that information there in the first place? It is because the documents are scanned and the Fort Bend County Clerk says they cannot not be altered.

"I could be charged with tampering with government record," says Ft. Bend County clerk Dianne Wilson.

Harris County, manually enters information into their online database. So you can retrieve very basic information, but you must actually go to the courthouse to get original documents, which do include personal information.

State officials understand the possibilities for fraud and have appointed a committee, which included Dianne Wilson, on public access to court records.

"The committee has recommended to the Supreme Court that there be a sensitive data form," says Wilson, "in the sensitive data form will be all the private information."

That measure would not require clerks to remove or redact sensitive information from documents already filed.

Back in 2003, Social Security numbers from marriage licenses were pulled as public information and on property documents, you can request that social security or drivers license numbers be kept private.

A good rule of thumb is to ask before any document is actually filed.