Miscellaneous

• United States Supreme Court Strikes Down Punitive Damage Award Against Phillip Morris

  Staff Writer | February 21, 2007 6:46 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court dealt a blow to consumers and businesses who present punitive damage claims to deter future harmful conduct. In a sharply divided opinion, the Supreme Court held that a Plaintiff cannot seek punitive damages to punish a corporation by suggesting actions against non-parties to a lawsuit should play a role in the size of the punitive damage award. A...

• The TJX Companies' Data Breach Fallout Continues

  Staff Writer | February 13, 2007 7:07 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  At least two class action lawsuits have been filed and one attorney general investigation has begun so far as a result of a data breach at TJX Companies. Customers who shopped at TJMaxx, Marshalls and other company stores throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico sometime in 2003 and 2006 may have had their personal private account data exposed to computer thieves. According to the...

• Arizona Still Ranks Highest for Identity Theft Victims

  Staff Writer | February 06, 2007 11:49 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  According to an article in the publication Newszapp.com, Arizona still ranks highest in the nation for victims of identity theft per 100,000 people. According to the article,In the Federal Trade Commission's annual report released Jan. 25 detailing identity theft in 2005, Arizona had the most victims per 100,000 than any other state with 9,320 cases. Mesa ranked No. 3 in the top 5 cities for...

• City of Chicago Elections Board Target of Lawsuit Over Public Release of Voter Social Security Numbers

  Staff Writer | January 29, 2007 9:24 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Looks like we have another example of data protection gone amiss. The City of Chicago Elections Board faces charges that it disclosed social security numbers and other confidential information belonging to over 1.3 million voters in late 2003 and 2004 when it distributed CD-ROM disks containing this confidential data to alderman and other members of local wards. In Chicago, election candidates...

• Several States Reporting Fraudulent Credit Card Use after TJX Companies' Data Breach

  Staff Writer | January 25, 2007 4:25 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  According to an article in today's on-line publication Computerworld, the Massachusetts Bankers Association (MBA) reports that identity thieves have been using stolen confidential credit and debit card information stolen by hackers who breached computer systems at The TJX Companies sometime in May of 2006. According to the MBA, compromised cards have so far been used to make fraudulent...

• Even More Details Emerging about TJMaxx and Marshalls Data Breach

  Staff Writer | January 21, 2007 8:24 AM | 2 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Even more details are beginning to emerge about the theft of data on computer systems belonging to TJX Companies, the parent company of TJMaxx and Marshalls stores. Unfortunately it appears that thieves are actually using information they stole from the TJX Company computers. The on-line publication Computerworld described the data security breach as follows:The scope of the security breach...

• More Details Released on Computer Data Theft at TJMaxx and Marshalls Stores

  Staff Writer | January 18, 2007 4:18 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Since posting the message about thieves who accessed customer data on computers storing Marshalls and TJMaxx customer data, I have learned more about what happened and the company's response. According to a company press release concerning the data theft, • Portions of the information stored in the affected part of TJX's network regarding credit and debit card sales transactions in TJX's...

• Identity Thieves Steal Data from Marshalls and TJMaxx Computers

  Staff Writer | January 18, 2007 9:49 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  Apparently late last year, hackers compromised and stole data from computer systems storing credit card and other confidential information belonging to customers of TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores. If you have been a customer of either of these stores, you may become the next victim of identity theft. The company chairman and acting CEO disclosed the security breach in a message to customers...

• Limiting the Right of Consumers to Sue

  Staff Writer | January 17, 2007 10:00 AM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  The New York Times published an editorial on January 16, 2007 suggesting that pro-business tort reform initiatives are succeeding throughout the judicial system, the federal government and in state legislatures across the country. The editorial suggests that public relations campaigns are painting the picture that almost all litigation against business is frivolous and that consumers do not...

• Consumer Credit Freeze Proposal Good for Arizona

  Staff Writer | January 09, 2007 12:26 PM | 0 CommentsPhoenix, AZ

  On Sunday, January 7, 2007, Linda Valdez, a columnist from the Arizona Republic urged the legislature to pass a bill allowing people to "put a freeze on their credit reports" as a way to minimize risk of identity theft. According to the Republic columnist, a credit freeze means that no one can access your credit information without your express permission. Consequently, no one can get a loan...