Printer Friendly
The Free Library
4,474,287 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Want the CIA director's address? Get it for $26 online.


The Internet has become a worldwide playground for identity thieves. Some online sites will give out your bank account balance for about $300. At least a dozen sites sell Social Security numbers and other private data for a small fee. The really bad news is that not even top U.S. officials' private information is safe.

The California-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights says that for $26 each, it was able to purchase the Social Security numbers and home addresses for Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet; Attorney General John Ashcroft; Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser; and other top administration officials.

The group said its ability to easily purchase this sensitive private data underscores the need for stronger protection of consumer data. It is calling for a strong national law on credit reporting that would still allow U.S. states to pass their own, perhaps tougher, privacy protections, such as the one recently passed in California. However, the House of Representatives passed its version of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA FCRA - Fair Credit Reporting Act (US)
FCRA - Fabric Care Research Association
FCRA - Fecal Collection Receptacle Assembly
FCRA - Federal Credit Reform Act
FCRA - Florida Cancer Registrars Association
FCRA - Florida Cartridge Remanufacturers Association
FCRA - Florida Civil Rights Act
FCRA - Florida Civil Rights Association
FCRA - Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
) reanthorization in September, and the financial services industry is lobbying for quick passage of the bill because it would block states from imposing tougher consumer financial data privacy standards.

The measure, H.R. 2622, the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, sponsored by Pep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala), Rep. Darlene Hooley (D-Ore.), and others, features several provisions designed to protect consumers from financial identity theft and improve the accuracy of consumer records. For example, the measure seeks to

* place alerts in consumer credit reports to prevent identity thieves from opening accounts in their names

* block information from being given to a credit bureau
Credit Bureau
An agency that researches and collects individual credit information and sells it for a fee to creditors so they can make a decision on granting loans. Typical clients include banks, mortgage lenders, credit card companies and other financing companies. Also commonly referred to as consumer reporting agency or credit reporting agency.

Notes:
A credit bureau doesn't decide whether an individual qualifies for credit or not.
 and from being reported by a credit bureau if such information results from identity theft

* give consumers the right to a free copy of their credit report

* restrict access to consumers' private health information

A portion of the bill also would extend a current pre-emption of tougher state privacy laws such as California's. The California measure represents some of the strongest financial protections in the United States by requiring financial institutions and insurance companies to get consumers' permission before sharing consumers' personal data with affiliates. Experts say stopping the trafficking of information among corporate affiliates is key to protecting information because some companies have hundreds of businesses under their corporate umbrella.

California's law, which takes effect in July 2004, will require customer permission before financial institutions share with an unaffiliated company information such as bank balances or spending habits. The bill also includes a provision under which consumers could bar a company from sharing information with an affiliate that is in a different line of business.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Association of Records Managers & Administrators (ARMA)
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 2003, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:Up front: news, trends & analysis
Publication:Information Management Journal
Date:Nov 1, 2003
Words:442
Previous Article:Court rules trade secrets outweigh free speech.(Up front: news, trends & analysis)(Brief Article)
Next Article:Canada and U.S. Internet usage.(Up front: news, trends & analysis)



Related Articles
FIXING THE SPY MACHINE Preparing American Intelligence for the Twenty-First Century.(Review)
CIA HEAD ORDERS CONTRA-DRUG PROBE.(NEWS)
D.C. NEWSPAPER CHALLENGES ARTICLES ON CIA-CRACK LINK.(NEWS)
EX-CONTRAS LEADER CALLS CLAIMS OF CIA DRUG SCHEME `RIDICULOUS'.(News)
The Wrong Man at Langley: George Tenet isn't up to it; neither is U.S. intelligence.(fumblings of the Central Intelligence Agency)
Bush's new CIA chief.(George W Bush)(Brief Article)
The information shortcomings of 9/11: one of the most important lessons of September 11, 2001, may be that informational--not...
"Community College Week" sold by Cox, Matthews & Associates.
Secrets and lies.(State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration)(Book review)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles