Drivers license info sold to companies for $150M prompts investigation

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FORT MYERS, Fla. — U.S. Senator Bill Nelson asked the federal government Friday to investigate Florida’s practices of selling residents’ personal information after reports showed the state made over $150 million selling driver’s license information to at least 75 companies.

“In this new era, when identity thieves are causing real damage to millions of hardworking families, the fact that the state is making profit by selling Floridians’ personal information on the open market is simply unconscionable,” the senator wrote in a letter to Attorney General Loretta Lynch.

Drivers like Steve Wyorstek are concerned about what those companies could do with all that information.

“Nefarious activities, they could steal identities, you know,” Wyorstek said. “If they have drivers license numbers, that’s something you don’t want them to have.”

WINK News contacted the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. They denied selling driver information and said it’s only produced as required by law.

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