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SACRAMENTO, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- California has sold about 24 million birth records to genealogy Web site Rootsweb.com, raising concerns that identity thieves could use the information, according to a published report Thursday.
The San Jose Mercury-News reported state law allows the sale of birth and death records but lawmakers and privacy advocates are calling for changes to how California handles the personal information of its residents.
The main concern is that Rootsweb.com offers free information, including mothers' maiden names, which could be used by criminals to get access to a person's financial information.
"The time has come for us to recognize that identity theft has become a big problem," said state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Francisco. "The fact that this information is public should raise a red flag."
Rootsweb.com also has purchased similar information from the state of Texas, according to the Mercury-News.
Rootsweb.com has collected 24.5 million California birth records and 9 million death records from the state.
State Sen. Debra Bowen, a Redondo Beach Democrat and member of the Senate Privacy Committee, told the newspaper that there was little evidence to suggest that thieves are taking such information to create fake identities.
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