Impersonator, Using Password “Help,” Breaches 401K Account

A hacker convinced a 401K “record keeper” for Abbott Labs to change an employee’s account password, and then managed to sprit away $245,000. The record keeper was working for a company on contract with Abbott, and both companies were named defendants in a lawsuit filed in federal court in Chicago earlier this year. That court has now dismissed claims against Abbott, largely on the grounds that the complaint failed to establish it was acting as a fiduciary in the course of the actions and failures alleged, but the court will allow the plaintiff to file an amended complaint. The claims against the record-keeping company were allowed to proceed, as were allegations made under Illinois’ consumer protection statute.