Former IT Technician Jailed for Abusing the Personal Info of His Co-Workers

A former University of Florida employee was sentenced to a year in prison after using the personal information of his co-workers to complete online health surveys.

Cam Giang, 31, of San Francisco, CA, pled guilty back in July to one count of wire fraud and one of unlawful use of a Social Security number.

According to prosecutors, while working as an IT technician at the University of California (UC) San Francisco Medical Center, Giang created hundreds of accounts on the website of a health management company, using the personal details of his colleagues.

The account registration procedure required a person's name, date of birth and the last six digits of their Social Security number, which qualifies as Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

Giang used the accounts to complete online health surveys, that rewarded participation with $100 Amazon vouchers. In total, he took approximately 382 surveys in the name of his co-workers.

StayWell Health Management, the company operating the websites, discovered the abuse and alerted both Giang's employer and the authorities.

The investigation into the fraudulent scheme was conducted by the FBI, with assistance from University of California and StayWell. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hanley Chew.

Giang got off easy, considering that the maximum sentence for a count of wire fraud is twenty years in prison and for unlawful use of a Social Security number, is five. Both offenses carry maximum fines of $250,000.

The former UC staffer will still have to pay restitution, but the exact amount will be decided at a hearing scheduled for January 20, 2011.

Cases where people misuse the personal information of their co-workers are not uncommon. Back in July we reported that a former Bank of New York computer technician pled guilty to offenses related to identity theft after misusing the details of 2,000 bank employees.