State Department Contractor Stole Passport Applicants’ Data

The employee, Chloe McClendon, and two other women allegedly created fake documents with the cribbed data and used those identities to borrow money for electronics, including iPhones and iPads.

The operation targeted passport offices in Houston and Atlanta, the Associated Press reports.

Before the revelation, the U.S. Passport Agency had barred contractors from bringing cellphones to work, and was planning to extend that rule to government employees too. The Washington Post reported the ban was spurred by a bad actor in Houston storing and transmitting applicants’ personal data.