TOP CIVIL SERVANTS' IDS STOLEN

Private Information Taken In Credit Check Found At Crime Scene

EDMONTON - Dozens of Alberta's top civil servants have had their
personal identification and credit histories fall into the hands of
the "methamphetamine" crowd.

Edmonton police informed the Solicitor General's office this week that
they had found forms filled out by bureaucrats for a credit check
ordered by the government. The information belonged to deputy
ministers, assistant deputy ministers, executive directors and
directors employed by the government of Alberta.

One irate senior government official said a police officer phoned him
Wednesday and told him they had found documents containing his
personal information, along with that of dozens of others, at a crime
scene.

Criminals often use this type of information to steal the identity of
a person and use it for fraudulent purposes.

"(Premier) Ralph's (Klein's) information could be in there for all I
know," said the official, who asked to remain unnamed. "We all have to
change our bank account numbers, our credit card numbers. The
implications are absolutely astounding.

"If they can't keep the records confidential for the top two per cent
of the government, what about (the public's) records?"

Det. Allan Vonkeman said the civil servants have good reason to be
concerned because the information was in possession of "the meth crowd."

"When this particular part of the criminal element gets hold of your
documents they can order cellphones, credit cards, open bank accounts
and get loans, all in your name."

The 43 forms found in an east-end hotel Tuesday night looked like they
had been "groomed," or organized into envelopes, Vonkeman said.

There was no one in the room at the time the search warrant was
executed, but drug paraphernalia were found in the room. The people
who were in the room before the search are known to police, he added.

Vonkeman suspects these people obtained the information second-hand.
Charges are pending.

The forms found by police had names, addresses, phone numbers, birth
dates and, in some cases, social insurance numbers, said Peter Tadman,
a spokesman with the Solicitor General's office.

They did not contain credit card numbers or bank account numbers, he
said.

The credit check forms did contain information on whether the employee
had ever had a cheque bounce for insufficient funds or if they had
ever experienced a bankruptcy.

The information was collected for the government by Trans Union of
Canada Inc., a credit check company that does work for large private
companies, as well.

"We're pleased police successfully recovered the information," Tadman
said.

"There is no evidence at this time that it was used
illegally.

"I can tell you we have suspended our dealings with the credit check
company pending the outcome of the police probe," he added.

The credit checks of top-level civil servants began in September 2002,
along with screenings by the nation's spy agency, the Canadian
Security Intelligence Service, to verify "the applicant's loyalty as
it relates to the security of Canada."

At the time, the checks were supposed to cost the government $265 per
person.

Tadman said the screening process is ongoing, when people are hired or
promoted. He could not say how much the checks currently cost.

The civil servant who spoke to The Journal said police told him they
had found security-check documents from at least 43 of about 464
people who have gone through the process.

He said bureaucrats were assured by the government that all the
documents would be destroyed after a report was done on their security
clearance. "Obviously, the government didn't follow up."

Tadman said he had a check done on himself. "I was never told it would
be destroyed."

Credit checks include screening for the presence of credit-risk
indicators, such as bankruptcies, garnishees, credit payments beyond
90 days and poor credit ratings.

The new rules were prompted by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on
the U.S., as well as other factors. Many civil servants expressed
outrage when the security checks were first announced.

Tadman said the recovered records did not appear to come from a
specific department.

Trans Union of Canada is a division of Trans Union Corporation. The
company provides a broad range of industries with services that
include credit reports and pre-employment evaluation reports. No one
from the company could be reached for comment.