Repuke state legislature candidate posts his opponent's and opponent's wife's SocSec #s online

[eridani]

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/10/30/2349427/candidates-social-security-number.html

A candidate for the 28th Legislative District is crying foul over the online posting of his and his wife’s Social Security numbers by his opponent’s campaign.

Democratic challenger Eric Choiniere said Monday that he filed a police report as a precaution in the event the posting made them a target of identity theft. He did not question the validity of the public records posted by the campaign of Steve O’Ban, his Republican opponent.

Two documents posted on the Facebook page included the Social Security numbers of Choiniere, a University Place city councilman, and his wife, Donelle. They were part of the personal bankruptcy filings the couple made in 1991 and 2003.

O’Ban said the campaign removed the digits as soon as it was pointed out, but they were still visible on the 1991 bankruptcy document as of late Monday afternoon.

Choiniere called the posting “extremely, maliciously irresponsible.

[BainsBane]

1. Isn't the pol guilty of a crime?

How can posting someone's SS number online be legal? How did he get the number anyway?

[eridani]

2. From court records on bankrruptcy filings

Seems to me that info like this should be automatically scrubbed. Not sure if it's a crime or not, but it ought to be.

[freshwest]

3. The social security numbers should have been sealed. Many documents are sealed for safety.

That they were filed, names, etc. are okay. But the financial information that led to identity theft, mainly bank account numbers and social security numbers are supposed to be sealed. That option is available for guardianship filings to protect the assets of the guardian but moreso the person being protected. There are also domestic violence records with information that can be sealed. I think this was malicious and designed to intimidate, not an accident. But I have no proof, just suspicion. AFAIK, the people that work in the courts are trustworthy persons who would not give this out.