Former HP Chairwoman Charged with Identity Theft

If you didn't think anyone can be an identity thief, or at least charged with identity theft, the recent Hewlett-Packard scandal may prove otherwise. Former HP chairwoman Patricia Dunn resigned after it emerged that she was involved in hiring investigators who used legally questionable methods to spy on members of the HP board and the media to discover a leak of confidential information, and she, along with HP ethics chief Kevin Hunsaker and the investigators they hired, face charges of conspiracy, wrongful use of computer data, identity theft, and engaging in fraudulent wire communications.

Dunn claims she is innocent of any wrong doing. The investigators allegedly concocted fictional emails to send to certain reporters with a tracer attached, a method that involves "pretexting," which is an illegal method also employed by identity thieves and hackers. Now, one may question whether or not Dunn herself is guilty of identity theft. Identity theft, by definition, is "when someone wrongfully acquires or uses another person's personal data" which is normally done for financial gain (but other motives obviously exist). According to this definition, identity theft has occurred, but whether or not Dunn is an identity thief herself is still questionable depending on whether or not she authorized the use of pretexting in the investigation or if she was aware of this at all.

While the investigation itself was overstepping boundaries and Dunn's resignation was appropriate, we will hopefully learn more as the trial approaches, whether or not these charges are accurate in Dunn's case. Personally, I'm not really buying that Dunn was so naive. Considering what private investigators charge, being completely oblivious to the methods being used or whether or not they were legal seems unlikely. A gray area perhaps? We'll see.

Apparently, with the proper motivation, anyone, even an executive at a high profile company, can be a potential identity thief.