By HARRY R. WEBER The Associated Press
ATLANTA - ChoicePoint, under fire for being duped into allowing criminals to access its massive database of personal information, said yesterday that consumers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories may have been affected by the breach of the company's credentialing process.
The data warehouser also announced plans to rescreen 17,000 business customers to make sure they are legitimate.
The Alpharetta, Ga.-based company said it has hired a retired Secret Service agent to help revamp its verification process. It also has paid for a one-year subscription to a credit-monitoring service for each of the 144,778 people the breach may have affected.
The company said the smallest number of possible victims -- two -- was in the U.S. Virgin Islands, while the largest number -- 34,114 -- was in California. In Washington, 3,189 residents are getting warning notices, the company said. It released a state-by-state breakdown yesterday. People in Puerto Rico and Guam also may have been affected.