VALDOSTA — Personal financial information of millions of people nationwide was compromised after a national retail merchant service provider was victimized by a former employee who removed and sold consumer information. One Lowndes County resident recently realized that she is one of those whose information was affected.

Certegy Check Services, Inc., a subsidiary of Fidelity National Information Services, Inc., provides check authorization services to U.S. retail merchants and also provides certain credit and debit card-related services to the gaming industry. The company maintains consumer information in connection with its check authorization business which helps merchants in determining whether to accept checks as payment at the point of sale. This information is obtained as a result of the services that it provides in connection with a previous transaction in which a consumer either wrote a check to a retailer or obtained cash in a casino, according to a press release.

Christy McLeod of Lake Park was notified by mail July 5 that her information was included in the stolen data. Authorities have determined that the stolen information was sold to a data broker who in turn sold a subset of that data to a limited number of direct marketing organizations, according to the letter.

The theft came to light when one of Certegy’s retail check processing customers alerted the company to a correlation between a small number of check transactions and the receipt by the retailer’s customers of direct telephone solicitations and mailed marketing materials. The misappropriated information included names, addresses and telephone numbers as well as dates of birth and bank account or credit card information. Of the 2.3 million records believed to be at issue, approximately 2.2 million contained bank account information

and 99,000 contained credit card information, according to the press release.

Certegy’s investigation into the matter has not revealed any evidence that the bank account or credit card information was used for anything other than marketing purposes and is unaware of any instance of identity theft or fraudulent financial activity, according to the press release.

“As a result of this apparent theft, the consumers affected received marketing solicitations from the companies that bought the data,” Renz Nichols, president of Certegy Check Services, stated in a press release. “We have no reason to believe that the theft resulted in any subsequent fraudulent activity or financial damage to the consumer, and we are taking the necessary steps to see that any further use of the data stops.”

At the top of the notification letter sent to affected consumers, Certegy referenced the last four digits of the affected bank or credit card account.

Those affected should remain vigilant be reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports for the next 24 months, according to the letter.

In an effort to prevent future use of the stolen data by the marketing companies Certegy filed a civil complaint against the former employee and the companies believed to have received the misappropriated data seeking retrieval of all consumer information and an injunction against its future use. Certegy has also contacted the applicable marketing companies in order to obtain the return of all consumer information and engaged law enforcement in an effort to seek immediate prosecution, according to the company’s official Web site.

The letter ended by stating, “Certegy is a conscientious company that takes its responsibility to protect and preserve consumer information very seriously. It carefully selects and screens employee candidates, monitors and supervises employees and maintains a whistleblower hotline for employees to report fraudulent or criminal activity. Certegy also encourages employees to report any improper behavior they witness. We deeply regret this unfortunate event happened despite all of these efforts, and apologize for any inconvenience or concern this has caused.”

Additional information can be obtained by visiting the company’s Web site at www.certegy.com/. Questions can also be emailed to questions@certegy.com.

To receive a free credit report visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free (877) 322-8228. For information about personal identity theft and fraud and how to stay protected, visit the Federal Trade Commission Web site at www.consumer.gov/idtheft or call (877) ID-THEFT.