Up to 60,000 Norwegians have had their personal ID number stolen through the web site of a telecom company, and now risk ID theft, according to Norway's data inspectorate. Through the home page of telecom company Tele2, someone has stolen the personal ID numbers of between 50,000 and 60,000 Norwegians, according to data inspectorate Datatilsynet.
The personal ID number is an 11 digit number that Norwegians are advised to keep secret. Pieced together with names and addresses, ID numbers can be used for ID theft, such as readdressing of mail or signing up for various expensive services or subscriptions in someone else's name.
Even the director of Datatilsynet, Georg Apenes, is a victim of the ID number theft. After receiving a new SIM card in the mail, he realised that someone had set up a new mobile phone subscription in his name, according to public broadcaster NRK.
Datatilsynet fears that the ID numbers are stored in a database somewhere, and that they will be used in a large scale ID theft in the future. They advise people who have received a letter from Tele2 to be particularly alert.
"People are angry. They think it is scary that someone has access to their personal ID numbers," said senior advisor Gunnel Helmers to Aftenposten.
Kristin Solberg
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