Financial details on first lady, Beyonce other celebs exposed
Entertainment // Financial Services // Government (U.S.) // United States
Financial details on first lady, Beyonce other celebs exposed
Some financial and personal information about Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and other government figures as well as celebrities including singers Beyonce and Jay-Z was fraudulently obtained via a consumer credit reports website, according to Equifax Inc, which said it was launching an investigation.
Equifax, a U.S. credit monitoring companies, said the information for four of the high-profile individuals was accessed through the annualcreditreport.com, a shared website also used by rivals TransUnion Corp and Experian PLC. It did not name the four individuals.
It was unclear how much of the data, which first appeared on the website www.exposed.su on 3/11, was accurate or who posted it. The site showed SSNs, phone numbers, addresses and credit reports purportedly belonging to 18 famous people, but at least some of the phone numbers were inaccurate. The Secret Service and FBI are investigating.
Experian said: "Criminals accessed personal credential information through various outside sources, which provided them with sufficient information to illegally access a limited number of individual reports from some US credit reporting agencies."
Equifax, a U.S. credit monitoring companies, said the information for four of the high-profile individuals was accessed through the annualcreditreport.com, a shared website also used by rivals TransUnion Corp and Experian PLC. It did not name the four individuals.
It was unclear how much of the data, which first appeared on the website www.exposed.su on 3/11, was accurate or who posted it. The site showed SSNs, phone numbers, addresses and credit reports purportedly belonging to 18 famous people, but at least some of the phone numbers were inaccurate. The Secret Service and FBI are investigating.
Experian said: "Criminals accessed personal credential information through various outside sources, which provided them with sufficient information to illegally access a limited number of individual reports from some US credit reporting agencies."