Check services firm reports theft

A check-authorizing company said that credit, bank account and other personal information on 2.3 million consumers was stolen, but that none of the data were used for identity theft or other financial fraud.

The report from Fidelity National Information Services Inc. unit Certegy Check Services Inc. was the latest case of data theft that has troubled corporations, the federal government and universities. Court documents filed in a civil case in St. Petersburg, Fla., allege that a former employee, William G. Sullivan, sold the information to data broker Jam Marketing, which then sold it to several direct marketing companies.

Certegy said the broker and the direct marketing companies were not aware that the information had been stolen. Certegy will notify all affected consumers of the theft and has contacted major credit companies as a precaution.

“As a result of this apparent theft, the consumers affected received marketing solicitations from the companies that bought the data,” said Renz Nichols, president of St. Petersburg-based Certegy, which helps merchants decide whether to accept checks. “We believe that is the extent of any damage to the public.”