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                                                 [swvatoday.com@Left3?x] 

Grand jury indicts woman for revealing identity information of GDATP employees

   Smyth County News: News >
   Wed Mar 25, 2009 - 06:05 PM

   By STEPHANIE PORTER-NICHOLS/Staff

   A Smyth County grand jury indicted a 40-year-old Chilhowie woman Wednesday
   for distributing the names, salaries and Social Security numbers of hundreds
   of General Dynamics’ employees in the midst of a strike last spring.
   In Smyth County Circuit Court, the felony indictment was handed down for
   Melissa  H.  Trail. The indictment charged that on April 16, Trail did
   “fraudulently obtain identifying information with intent to distribute the
   information, relating to 50 or more persons.”
   Virginia State Police Sgt. Michael Conroy said the personnel information of
   hundreds of employees was compromised. The identifying information was
   printed and posted on strike shacks around General Dynamics Armaments and
   Technical Products’ plants on Johnston Road and Brunswick Lane during a
   strike that lasted nine weeks.
   “The potential for identity theft was certainly there,” said Conroy.
   The  sergeant  said investigators developed information that Trail was
   possibly involved and pursued evidence that led to the indictment this week.
   Conroy couldn’t speculate about whether more arrests would result from what
   he described as an ongoing investigation.
   Following the incident, GDATP President Mike Mulligan pledged protection of
   employees’ credit records. The company retained a firm to assist employees
   in guarding their credit records against possible harm resulting from the
   disclosure of sensitive information for one year.
   Conroy said that move had resulted in intercepts of attempts to breach
   employees’ identities.
   He once again urged citizens to be vigilant in their efforts to protect
   their identifying information. With the volume of ongoing scams, the VSP
   spokesman said there’s not enough police officers to combat the crime. “The
   best defense in education,” he said.
   “How do you (law enforcement) compete with the Internet?” he rhetorically
   asked emphasizing the worldwide reach of con artists. Conroy noted that many
   telemarketing schemes now originate in Canada, while other kinds of scams
   originate from Nigeria.
   As tax refunds are being distributed, he said, the number of scams will
   increase.
   Noting the proliferation of fake company Web sites, he urged people to use
   caution  even  in  responding  to e-mails that appear to be legitimate
   businesses. Often e-mail replies are redirected to fake sites, he explained.
   He also encouraged people to use Internet resources like snopes.com to check
   out offers.
   “It’s really about prevention,” Conroy said.
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