State Dept. issues credit card warning

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department has contacted 400 passport applicants regarding a breach of its database that could lead to a credit card scam, officials say.

Florence Fultz, the State Department's Passport Services division acting managing director, has recommended to those 400 applicants that they review their credit card history to ensure the breach did not lead to any incidents of identity theft, The Washington Post reported Friday.

Any incidents of identity theft incurred by those District of Columbia area applicants would be dealt with by the State Department, which would offer limited financial compensation and credit monitoring, Fultz said.

Fultz's letter to the approximate 400 individuals comes as an investigation into the passport data theft grows.

Court documents show the credit card scheme related to the theft came to light after a police officer allegedly found a man in possession of copies of eight passport applications and 21 credit cards in other people's names, the newspaper said.