Class Claims Companies Are Selling|Social Security Numbers On The Internet

JEFFERSON CITY, MO. (CN) - The Missouri Department of Revenue sold hundreds of thousands of Missourians' Social Security numbers to Shadowsoft and publicdata.com, which got the data under false pretenses and sold it over the Internet, a class action claims in Federal Court.

The defendant corporations are based in Texas, as is publicdata.com's corporate parent, The Source for Public Data.

Plaintiffs claim, "Shadowsoft directly and purposefully obtained, misappropriated and sold highly restricted personal information belonging to individuals living in Missouri". They say that on Feb. 20, the Jackson County, Mo., Circuit Court entered a temporary restraining order prohibiting PublicData and Shadowsoft from "making the social security numbers of any Missourian available for search or sale on www.publicdata.com."

The complaint continues: "Prior to February 20, 2008, co-defendant Shadowsoft acquired a large database from Mo. DOR on the pretense that the information would be used only for the legitimate business purpose of verifying the accuracy of information of individuals doing business with Shadowsoft." This database included Social Security numbers of "hundreds of thousands of licenses drivers in the State of Missouri," the complaint states.

Shadowsoft allegedly transferred the database to PublicData, which sold it over the Internet.

Plaintiffs demand damages, disgorgement of unjust profits and costs. Their lead counsel is the Saxton Law Firm and Burgess & Lamb, both of Kansas City, Mo.

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