Watsyursoshul Redux

It had to happen. And local, for that matter.

As I recently said in my blog, some things should never be taken for granted. Like your SSN:

From today's Salt Lake Tribune:

State worker pleads guilty to ID theft
by Pamela Manson

A former Department of Workforce Services employee admitted Friday she used the personal information of the agency's clients to open instant lines of credit or obtain credit cards. Laura Bustamante also said she gave information on at least 33 people to two other people, who also obtained fraudulent credit cards. Bustamante, 34, of Midvale, made the admissions while pleading guilty to one count each of unlawful access to a protected computer and aggravated identity theft. She faces up to five years in prison on the unlawful access charge and a mandatory two-year term for identity theft that must be consecutive to the first sentence. Her sentencing by U.S. District Judge Tena Campbell is scheduled for Dec. 15. Prosecutors say Bustamante, aneligibility specialist, picked her victims based on whether she could get access to their home mailboxes. She then filled out credit card applications in their names and either stole the cards from the mailboxes or had the cards sent to the home of her boyfriend's mother. Bustamante said her scheme was carried out from September 2007 to January 2008. The two people who also fraudulently used the personal information of agency clients - Michelle Chapman, 29, and Joshua Smith, 32, both of Murray - have pleaded guilty in the case and are awaiting sentencing.