Big brother or big business? Mostly the latter

Your personal information is more places than you may think. People who aren't reading this page, in their naïveté, probably believe that the only companies out there with their information are the companies with which they are currently doing business: banks, credit cards, utilities, cell phone companies, all the way to the websites they have signed up with like Amazon.com and eBay.

What they don't know is that very frequently, within the fine print (that is, the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions Agreements) of their account contract, the company states that they may sell customer information to other companies who are selling marketing products. They do this legally.

Now I want you to think about the past month of your life... and think of how many brand new services you signed up for (that is, new products that required registration). You may have signed up for these services via phone, in person, via mail, or over the internet. For me, within the past 30 days I have signed up for:

1) An iTunes account (got with the times a few years late)
2) A Safeway Rewards card
3) A member account at a hip clothing store: American Apparel
4) One print magazine subscription: The Economist
5) One online free newspaper profile: The Washington Post
6) A new email address at Gmail
7) A new credit card because my introductory APR was raised on my old one
8) A new cell phone provider, Verizon

That's eight new services I signed up for in the past 30 days (that I can remember). Consider that any of these companies could (and do) have contracts with direct marketing firms who may be collecting your information.

So, do you actually read the contract before you sign it? Or do you just skim it and admire the shapes of the paragraphs? Don't answer that.

The reality is: the direct marketing industry is thriving because NOBODY ever reads the fine print in their account contracts.

Click here to see an example of the fine print.

Now think about all the junk mail you get. Even if your phone number and address are unlisted in your local phone book, don't you wonder how all these random companies get your information?

Companies that purchase this information and use it are frequently direct marketers.

What is direct marketing?

The direct marketing industry is a multi-billion dollar juggernaut in the United States. Basically, direct marketing companies will contract from company to company (such as Safeway and AT&T) and collect their respective customer lists, then compile them into their own direct marketing proprietary database, at which point they may resell it to other companies that thrive on customer leads or use it themselves.

Basically, information is sold from company to company below the public radar...and it is completely legal. It's just one of those things that happen in America.

Is the company required to tell you anything if they are going to sell your information? What is the government doing to protect consumers? To get some answers, click here.

Each additional name on a customer list and each additional chunk of information increase the worth of the databases when they are sold. What a nice idea; your name and information incrementally raise the selling price of these marketing databases! (dramatic pause)... My thoughts exactly.

So your information can be sold for the purpose of marketing new products to you, but there is also one other main use. It can go to the lovely folks in the data brokering industry.

What is data brokering?

The data brokering industry is based simply on maintaining and selling libraries of information on... people. This information is then sold for various purposes including: criminal records checks, background checks, address verification, classmate finders, job screening, and more. Once again, the buying and selling of all these libraries largely goes on below the public radar with minimal government oversight... and is completely legal.

Much of this information is public, meaning it is available from government agencies or it is termed "directory information" from utility companies. Directory information is defined as your name, your address, and your phone number (if not "unlisted"). Examples of government-kept public information are: marriage & divorce court records, criminal records, real estate records, and driving records.

Why is data brokering necessary?

What are the dangers?

The greatest risk that you face as a result of the data brokering industry is not the prospect of a telemarketer interrupting your Yankee pot roast. Rather, identity theft can be made easier by the sheer availability of all this information (that is by purchase or by stealing).

These personal information libraries are the picnic, and identity thieves are the ants.

There have been several cases in recent years of serious breaches of brokers' databases, which have resulted in an enormous hemorrhage of personal information into the hands of persistently creative criminals. Once a thief has the basics about you, he or she can then go on to pose as you. While they accumulate credit, high-end merchandise, and everything else imaginable, you accumulate nothing but debt and a dismal future.

So, what can you do to protect yourself?

1) Learn how to read a Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions Agreement:

The meat of what you're after is usually located in the Privacy Policy. Look for key words that companies often use to describe who it is they're selling your data to.

Such entities are often called subcontractors, service providers, affiliates, third parties, non-affiliated third parties, etc. While some of these are completely necessary relationships (like the outsourced billing company they use)... some of these relationships may be to direct marketers or data brokers. So take the time to read the company's definition of these ambiguous entities.

One might wonder what the point is of taking time to read these mind-numbing pamphlets. What makes the eye strain worthwhile is that companies may state in the fine print that they do not share your personal data with these third parties. Although it may necessitate LASIK eye surgery, it is your job nevertheless to read and accept the contract agreements. Those that do will oftentimes have instructions or links on how to opt out of some or all of this process.

2) Ask that your public servants serve you:

While you're online signing up for that new product or service, take a stroll on over to your friendly state or federal representative's webpage. Even the most out of touch politician will usually maintain their presence on a small tidbit of internet turf. Many of you may firmly believe that contacting your elected officials is a pointless exercise. My mother would be proud that I'm about to type this: if more people actually took the time to express their views to their congressmen and women things might change.
Realistically, how hard is it to write a sentence or two and press "send"?

3) Contact the data brokers and direct marketers themselves:

Opt out of their databases. Unfortunately, data brokers and direct marketers usually have different opt out policies (that is, there is no standardized way to opt out, each company makes their own). None the less, deleting your data from marketing and broker databases is an important way to protect your privacy, safeguard your family, and keep your "secrets" safe...

This gets us to the task at hand...

Comments

Gina L

December 19, 2007 at 2:41 PM

How is all this stuff legal for them to do? Why isn't our government protecting us?

Rate this article

Current rating: out of 2 votes

Questions about this topic? Ask them on our Contact Us page.

Bookmark this page