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O Canada! Facebook Must Improve Privacy Practices To Comply With Canadian Law

July 21, 2009 12:43 by Tom Ahearn

Following an investigation into the privacy policies and practices of popular social network Facebook.com by the Canadian government, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has determined that Facebook does not meet Canada's privacy legislation requirements.

According to the recent ruling, Facebook must take greater responsibility for the personal information in its care in order to comply with Canadian privacy law. The investigation identified several areas where Facebook needs to better address privacy issues. Some of the suggestions included:

  • Clearer Privacy Practices: The investigation found that the information Facebook provides about its privacy practices is often confusing or incomplete. For example, the “account settings” page describes how to deactivate accounts, but not how to delete them, which actually removes personal data from Facebook’s servers.
  • More Transparency: The investigation found that Facebook needs to ensure that the social networking site’s nearly 12 million Canadian users have the information they need to make meaningful decisions about how widely they share personal information.
  • Safeguards Against Outside Developers: The investigation found that Facebook lacks adequate safeguards to effectively restrict the more than 950,000 outside third-party developers in some 180 countries from accessing profile information.
  • Releasing Data From Deactivated Accounts: The investigation also found that Facebook has a policy of indefinitely keeping the personal information of people who have deactivated their accounts, a violation of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), Canada’s private-sector privacy law.  

At the urging of Canadian authorities to ensure that they are in compliance with privacy law and ultimately show themselves as models of privacy, Facebook has agreed to adopt many of the recommendations stemming from the Privacy Commissioner’s investigation and has already simplified its privacy settings after calling them too complex.

MyBackgroundCheck.com – a pioneer in consumer requested background checks – helps consumers control their own personal information with “personal” background checks on themselves. To learn more how personal background checks help protect privacy, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow us on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

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Social Network Tagged.com Hit with Identity Theft, Invasion of Privacy Accusation

July 16, 2009 14:06 by Tom Ahearn

New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that he has served the social networking site Tagged.com with formal notice that his office intends to sue the company for identity theft, invasion of privacy, and deceptive email marketing practices. 

Between April and June of 2009, according to Cuomo’s notice of intent, Tagged sent tens of millions of emails to consumers stating that Tagged members had posted private photos online for their friends to view.

However – according to the notice – no such photos existed, the emails were not from friends, and when recipients of these emails tried to view the photos they were tricked into providing the company with access to their personal email contacts, which the company then used to send more promotional emails.

These practices amounted to identity theft and invasion of privacy, Attorney General Cuomo claimed:

"This company stole the address books and identities of millions of people. Consumers had their privacy invaded."

Tagged CEO Greg Tseng denied allegations of identity theft and invasion of privacy in his blog:

"Identify theft and invasion of privacy are very serious allegations and it is not accurate to portray Tagged, or any other social network, in this regard."

In June, Tagged – the 3rd largest social networking site in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world with over 80 million registered members worldwide, according to Tseng – suspended its email marketing campaign, which had sent over 60 million emails to consumers worldwide, in response to user complaints and criticism.

While it appears on the surface that Tagged.com’s actions were only meant to increase traffic and memberships, the lurking dangers of privacy loss and identity theft have led to a closer of inspection of the practices conducted by social networking sites and online businesses with regards to the personally identifying information (PII) of users.

In today’s digital age where almost everyone’s PII is readily available in cyberspace, one thing – invasion of privacy – can quickly lead to another – identity theft.

While most background check companies focus only on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com offers consumers "personal" background checks of themselves to keep their personally identifiable information secure and accurate. To learn how personal background checks stop privacy loss and identity theft, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

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New CA Law Reveals Several Hundreds Of Health Data Breach Reports

July 13, 2009 16:01 by Tom Ahearn

According to a story on Wired.com, a new law that went into effect January 1 requiring health care organizations in California to report suspected incidents of unauthorized data breaches of a patient’s personally identifiable health information – both intentional and unintentional – to the California Department of Public Health has led to officials receiving more than 800 reports in the first five months of this year.

The agency was surprised by the large number of health data breach reports it received in such a short period, according to the Journal of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), and expects the numbers to increase even more as organizations become more familiar with reporting procedures.

Officials have conducted full investigations on 122 cases so far and confirmed 116 as actual data breaches. Most of the types of data breaches reported so far – which also include complaints from patients – have been unintentional. However, the Journal reports that officials can fine offending organizations or individuals up to $250,000 depending on the nature of the data breach and the extent of the harm it caused.

One such fine occurred after investigators determined that workers at a Los Angeles-based hospital inappropriately accessed the medical records of Nadya Suleman – also known as the “Octomom” – who received extensive publicity after giving birth to octuplets following fertility treatments. Investigators found that the hospital had been negligent in protecting Suleman’s medical record after discovering that an employee had improperly viewed her health data.

In addition, recently deceased actress Farrah Fawcett had also filed a complaint accusing employees in an LA-area hospital of providing information about her to a reporter.

California passed the first data breach notification law (which went into effect in July 2003) that required entities doing business in the state to notify consumers when their personally identifiable information (PII) – such as a name, date of birth, and Social Security or credit card number – was breached. The law helped expose the extent of the data breach problem and prompted other states to follow suit with their own laws.

California’s new medical data breach law, which is unpopular with many health care organizations, is the first in the nation and is being closely watched by other states.

While most background check companies focus on employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com offers consumers, jobseekers, students, and volunteers the chance to give themselves background checks and keep personal information secure, accurate, and up-to-date. For information about how personal background checks can help you avoid identity theft and privacy loss, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364. To follow MyBackgroundCheck.com on Twitter, visit www.twitter.com/MyBackgroundChk.

tahearn@mybackgroundcheck.com

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Even Professional Athletes Not Talented Enough To Avoid Identity Theft

June 30, 2009 10:36 by Tom Ahearn

A recent article from PalmBeachPost.com shows how identity theft can catch up to strong, fast, and talented athletes in all sports – even Tiger Woods.

Back in 1998, someone used the golfing great’s personal information to make more than $50,000 worth of bogus charges. Woods, and the sport of golf, is not alone in being a victim of what could be termed "athlete identity theft."

In baseball, Geoff Jenkins, a former outfielder with the 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies, once had someone use his name to open several credit cards and rack up debt. It took Jenkins over a year to clear up his credit and deal with banks that had been defrauded in his name due to identity theft.

In football, an identity thief withdrew $10,000 from the bank account of cornerback Ty Law when he was a member of the New England Patriots, and quarterback Danny Wuerffel was victimized by identity theft when someone opened a credit card in his name while he played for the Green Bay Packers. The latest victim of athlete identity theft, Miami Dolphins rookie cornerback Vontae Davis, is also a football player.

In this case of identity theft, a man stopped for traffic infractions on June 9 in Champaign, Illinois showed police Davis' driver license (Davis' wallet was stolen several months ago while he was a student at the University of Illinois) and drove off a free man.

Soon after, national media reports identified Davis as the man cited in the incident, only Vontae was practicing with the Dolphins over 1,000 miles away in Davie, Florida on June 9. He even sent his brother Vernon – a tight end with the San Francisco 49ers – a text message that joked: "Your brother got arrested in Illinois."

However, identity theft is no laughing matter, for once someone has stolen another person’s identity, the identity theft victim must spend time and money clearing up the financial, criminal, and psychological problems left behind.

Athletes, in particular, are vulnerable to identity theft because details about them – dates of birth, names of family members, schools attended, and salaries – are available in press guides, on the Web, and even during national broadcasts. Also, athletes travel extensively throughout the U.S. and the world while using their financially attractive credit cards and bank accounts.

The crime of athlete identity theft has become so prevalent that major pro leagues are teaming up to produce a video that all players see during their pre-season training camps. Recently, the leagues have talked to their players about limiting the amount of information they share on social networking sites such as Facebook in an effort to curb identity theft.

Even those people who are not superstar pro athletes with millions of dollars at their disposal can become victims of identity theft. According to Javelin Research, identity theft affected nearly 10 million Americans in 2008 – most of them ordinary men and women – at a cost of more than $48 billion.

In sports and in life, sometimes the best defense (against identity theft, in this case) is a good offense. Some athletes – and non-athletes – are hiring services to monitor individual and family credit and bank accounts. But criminal records that are usually reserved only for background checks should also be monitored, since someone who committed identity theft could also commit other crimes in someone else's name.

Since most background check firms only focus on employers and large corporations, where can individuals find a "self background check" to help control personal information, protect privacy, and stop identity theft? Introduced in 2000, MyBackgroundCheck.com was one of the first web-based consumer requested background check services available for individuals. Today, the company helps over a million individuals perform personal background checks on themselves each year to use as jobseekers, students, tenants, volunteers, parents, friends, and consumers.

To learn how personal background checks can prevent identity theft, visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.

Press Release: MyBackgroundCheck.com Launches New Re-Designed Website Offering Personal Background Checks

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Montana City Stops Requiring Facebook, MySpace & YouTube Logins/Passwords During Background Checks

June 24, 2009 10:15 by Tom Ahearn

Until recently, Bozeman, Montana required jobseekers looking to work for the city to reveal all of their passwords and logins to social media networking sites like Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube – and to email accounts such as Google and Yahoo – during background checks. News of the requirement created such a controversy over privacy rights that the city’s practice of reviewing information found on password-protected sites has since been suspended pending “a more comprehensive evaluation.”

According to reports, a news station in Montana was informed about Bozeman's background check policies from an anonymous individual. Jobseekers for Bozeman city posts were required to sign a background check waiver requiring applicants – in addition to undergoing usual criminal records search and past employment reviews – to list their involvement with online websites “to include, but not limited to: Facebook, Google, Yahoo, YouTube.com, MySpace, etc.” The city form then offered three lines for applicants to list websites, their user names and login information, and their passwords.

Not surprisingly, the requirement raised questions concerning the privacy rights of applicants. Bozeman officials were receiving an e-mail a minute about the background check policy while an online poll tallying more than 5,000 votes found 98 percent of the respondents thought the policy was an invasion of privacy. In addition, Article 2, Section 10 of the Montana Constitution reads “the right of individual privacy is essential to the well-being of a free society and shall not be infringed without the showing of a compelling state interest.”

Initially, the Bozeman City Attorney was quoted as defending the background check policy: “We have positions ranging from fire and police, which require people of high integrity for those positions, all the way down to the lifeguards and the folks that work in city hall here. So we do those types of investigations to make sure the people that we hire have the highest moral character and are a good fit for the city.” The city has since ended the policy which “appears to have exceeded that which is acceptable to our community.”

Regarding the city's former background check requirement, officials from online social networking website Facebook.com – which currently has more than 200 million active users worldwide – were quoted as saying the Bozeman policy “is a violation of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which received feedback from users and was ultimately approved in a site-wide vote.” This proves once again that while some employers favor using social media sites for employment background checks, the process does come with certain risks and liabilities.

Whatever their opinion on privacy issues, jobseekers in today’s job market should expect a thorough background check that could include a criminal record search, resume validation, and even a credit report. While social networking sites probably should stay off limits, employers will have plenty of information left in the background check to ponder. Jobseekers should do their best to make sure that the information found in background check reports is current, accurate, and secure from identity theft.

One way to accomplish this goal is with a Self Background Check – a background check that is ordered by an individual and for the individual. Self background checks help jobseekers keep the information that will be viewed by potential employers mistake-proof and error-free. While most background check companies only service employers, MyBackgroundCheck.com specializes in personal background checks for individuals to use as jobseekers, tenants, students, volunteers, and everyday consumers. For more information on self background checks, please visit www.mybackgroundcheck.com, email info@mybackgroundcheck.com, or call 1-800-503-2364.

Contact Us @ MyBackgroundCheck.com

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