Boeing Warns 161,000 of Social Security Number Theft

Continuing with this year's long list of consumer
information security breaches, Boeing is the latest
victim.

The bad news came (via email) this past Friday that a
laptop, containing names and Social Security numbers
(SSN), and in some cases birth dates and banking
information, recently was stolen at a "non-Boeing
site".

While Boeing has indicated its helping those 161,000
employees and retirees "avoid any adverse
consequences", it should make you wonder how a company
a company which is so adept in handling large scale classified
defense contracts could be so careless in the first place
careless in the first place with sensitive consumer
information.

[hint: no national law which imposes stiff penalties
for consumer data security breach]

To Boeing's credit, the company has set up a special
call-in center to assist the victims as well as will
also pay for enrolling employees in a credit-monitoring
service which flags suspicious activity.

So, our tip for today is if you or an associate
(including retirees) works for Boeing, contact the
company's specially created call center to verify your
personal information was not exposed by the recent theft
of that laptop computer. If you have already been notified
by Boeing you were one of those unlucky consumers, notify your
bank and credit card companies immediately to limit
your potential loss.