ID theft case reveals vulnerability of state’s court website

Federal prosecutors say a man used Alabama’s publicly accessible online court records to steal the identities of dozens of people, highlighting the system’s vulnerability to identity thieves.

Brian Colby Alexander is accused of obtaining names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of about 43 people from Alacourt.com, the state’s website for trial court records.

People’s Social Security numbers are listed in numerous publicly accessible court records in Alabama’s system.

Even former Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley’s full Social Security number appears twice — hand-written and also typed — in a Tuesday court filing in a case in which he’s charged with campaign violations.

Prosecutors say Alexander used people’s information from the court site to open bank accounts and obtain loans in their names.

His lawyer didn’t immediately return messages Wednesday.