Joe Wurzelbacher initially shied away from the glare of celebrity, but soon his name was in all the major newspapers and on the lips of every TV broadcaster. Now most Americans know him better as “Joe the Plumber” and he seems to welcome the spotlight.
The problem with fame, though, is that soon people want to know even more about you. That must have been the motivation behind all the illegal searches of Joe’s Ohio state government records.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is conducting an investigation into illegal searches involving Wurzelbacher’s records with the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency, the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services and the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles.
The investigation is currently focused on an independent contractor who worked four years ago on the development of the Ohio Local Law Enforcement Information Sharing Network. Access to Wurzelbacher’s records was gained through a test account created during the network’s launch.
The data exposed in the privacy breaches could be used to commit identity theft, but Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said they don’t think any of Wurzelbacher’s information has been disclosed or used for criminal activity.
Since the privacy breach was discovered Wurzelbacher has invited an even greater exposure by joining presidential candidate, Sen. John McCain, and his running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin, on the campaign trail.
Perhaps there’s something about the way plumbers commonly expose themselves while working under sinks that has desensitized Wurzelbacher to his sudden lack of privacy.
Let LifeLock help you protect your privacy, your credit and your good name. Visit their website at LifeLock.com to learn more about their reliable and innovative tools that serve almost 1.5 million Americans. Enroll using LifeLock promotion code Defense for the lowest Life Lock price.
