Miami Cop Used Police Database to Steal Identities, Get Fake Tax Refunds
In the midst of revelations of NSA's ferreting away loads of personal information and metadata about Americans, those who were apathetic about the whole scandal turned to the typical "I have nothing to hide" argument. I noted why folks should be concerned anyway in a piece a few months ago that was reprinted in our October issue. In short, one reason even the totally innocent should worry about who is collecting their data is because even people in position of authority may have dangerous plans that have nothing to do with their job duties.
Case in point: A Miami officer used a police database to steal the identities of 1,000 people in order to engage in tax fraud. From the Miami Herald:
A Miami cop who stole 1,000 identities from a police database to score fraudulent income-tax refunds was found guilty in federal court Thursday.
Malinsky Bazile, 28, collected about $140,000 from the scam in 2011-12.
Bazile, who joined the Miami Police Department in 2008, was immediately taken into custody while he awaits sentencing.
No, it's not the NSA, but it's an important reminder that we don't have control over which government officials see private information about us, but government officials are no more immune to using that information for corrupt purposes than private hackers.
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