[Boston Globe] subscriber credit data distributed by mistake

[Gormy Cuss]

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2006/02/01/subscriber_credit_data_distributed_by_mistake/

By Robert Gavin, Globe Staff | February 1, 2006

Credit and bank card numbers of as many as 240,000 subscribers of The Boston Globe and Worcester Telegram & Gazette were inadvertently distributed with bundles of T&G newspapers on Sunday, officials of the newspapers said yesterday.

The confidential information was on the back of paper used in wrapping newspaper bundles for distribution to carriers and retailers. As many as 9,000 bundles of the T&G, wrapped in paper containing subscribers' names and their confidential information, were distributed Sunday to 2,000 retailers and 390 carriers in the Worcester area, said Alfred S. Larkin Jr., spokesman for the Globe.

In addition, routing information for personal checks of 1,100 T&G subscribers also may have been inadvertently released.

The Globe and T&G, which are both owned by The New York Times Co., share a computer system.

Oopsie. Who says we need privacy rights?

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Can you say, "Litigation"?

I don't think "Oops" is a valid legal defense.

[Gormy Cuss]

3. Can you also say "paper shredder?"

If it weren't so serious it would be comical. Two aborted print jobs in the business office of the Worcester paper were recycled as bundle wrap covers. If it weren't for a concerned convenience store clerk notifying the newspapers of the security risk, it may never have been reported. One wonders if similar "recycling" has disseminated sensitive info in the past.

[Bozita]

2. I'm a NYT subscriber - seems like paying with credit card is risky busines

Maybe payment by check is the smarter move.