Similar concerns were posted in numerous blogs by customers worried about their personal identity and angry at the prospect of not getting any refund for their now defunct memberships.

No contact number was immediately available for a Clear representative. A toll-free number for customer service played an automated message that repeated the company's statement on its Web site, but offered no other details.

The incident highlights what some security analysts say is a sometimes overlooked security and privacy issue when companies go under: The proper disposal of all the personal and financial data that a company would have collected while it was in business.

While some companies might have formal processes for handling data destruction, if they go out of business others may not, analysts have noted. A company in financial trouble or in bankruptcy for instance often has little control over its assets, including its data, which could be sold off to third-parties by creditors looking to recover whatever they can.

This is not the first time that privacy concerns related to Verified Identity have surfaced. Last year, , prompting the TSA to temporarily stop it from registering new customers for Clear.