Clearfly customers worry about identity theft

The closing of the Clearfly company raises fears of identity theft from its customers. Below is a quote from an article about Clearfly's closure appearing on http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/dpp/news/local_news/Clearfly_Customers_Worry_About_ID_Theft_062709.

"Clearfly's 'Clear Lanes' was supposed to be a convenience for busy travelers. Now that Clearfly has stopped operating, some people are wondering if its closure could lead to identity theft.

Buy a 'Clear Card' and cut lines at airport security checkpoints nationwide. It was supposed to be a great deal for frequent fliers.

The company that operated those so-called 'clear lanes' suddenly ceased operations and it left more than disappointed customers. It left a lot of questions. The most frequently asked question was what happens to all the personal information stored in the system?

Georgia Senator Johnny Isakson expressed his concern. 'Thousands of Georgians' private information is available on that clear system and we want to make sure it's preserved and protected,' he said.

The system used fingerprints and eye retina scans to identify customers. Officials with the company, Verified Identity Pass, said it's wiped all airport kiosks clean of personal information using a 'triple' wipe process, which automatically and completely overwrites the contents of the entire operating system.

A statement on the company's Web site reads, 'Clear stands by our commitment to protect our customers personally identifiable information - including fingerprints, iris images, photos, names, addresses, credit card numbers and other personal information provided to us - and to keep the privacy promises that we have made.'

Isakson said he's written letters to the Transportation and Security Administration and airport officials. 'We have the transportation security agency guaranteeing all that private information remains private and does not get distributed in any way,' he said."