It looks like some people weren’t able to talk their way out of having an Ashley Madison account on the side, the hacking scandal reportedly claiming suicide victims.

The Daily Mail reports that a Texas police captain, Michael Gorhum, who took his life last week was one of the people exposed in the wake of the website’s client list being laid bare:

His was one of three San Antonio city official email addresses which were leaked as part of the Ashley Madison [hack]…

Two of the emails are reportedly linked to members of the SAPD, the late Capt. Gorhum, and a detective, but Ashley Madison does not verify email addresses so it is possible to use the site with someone else’s email.

San Antonio city officials that as a result of this, they ‘cannot confirm whether these addresses were legitimately used to access the site,’ adding that Ashley Madison is blocked on City officials’ computers.

Now the BBC are carrying a breaking news story from Canada regarding two clients who have taken their lives since the hack. Police are now reporting that the site’s owners are offering their own reward:

“Today I can confirm that Avid Life Media is offering a $500,000 (£241,065) reward to anyone providing information that leads to the identification, arrest and prosecution of the person or persons responsible for the leak of the Ashley Madison database,” said acting staff superintendent Bryce Evans.

“This hack is one of the largest data breaches in the world and is very unique on its own in that it exposed tens of millions of people’s personal information including,” he added.

The announcement was made at a news conference at Toronto Police Headquarters.

One wonders whether this will prompt a response from those responsible for publishing the details. It’s all fun and games playing the role of the morality police online, perhaps less so though when people start taking their lives and you’re partially responsible.

[sources:dailymail&bbc]