Over the last few months, you’ve probably been inundated with emails begging you to re-subscribe to a mailing list or letting you know about an updated privacy policy. Ever wonder why? It’s because the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is going into effect in the European Union (EU) and, as a result, companies around the world have had to re-approach how they handle personal data.
With last month’s passage of the Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018 (SB 318), all 50 states will have laws requiring companies to notify individuals when their personal information is exposed as a result of a data breach. It has been 15 years since the first data breach notification law passed in California, and this milestone is worth celebrating as a strong statement from the people of the United States that we care about our privacy.
As the fallout from the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal continues to make headlines, it is important to remember that our privacy problems don’t end with Facebook. They are just the tip of the iceberg.
Dear friends and colleagues,
In September 2017, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse celebrated a significant milestone: 25 years of engaging, educating and empowering individuals to protect their privacy. This would not have been possible without the dedication of our founder and Executive Director, Beth Givens. Beth’s vision to create comprehensive consumer education resourc
es coupled with her tireless drive in the fight for strong privacy protections has been an inspiration to individuals both within the organization and nationwide.
Currently, all Medicare cards have your Social Security number printed on them. So if you lose your Medicare card, your Social Security number may be compromised: possibly leading to identity theft.
Beginning in this month, Medicare will start mailing out new cards with randomly-generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier numbers instead of your Social Security number. These cards will be mailed out to the address you have on file with the Social Security Administration in phases by geographic location.
A credit freeze is the greatest protection you have against identity theft, specifically new account fraud. In 2003, California became the first state in the US to pass a law giving its residents the right to freeze their credit. While this was a great step forward with California leading the way towards a better-protected public, the time has come to take the next step.
Facebook and Cambridge Analytica have been dominating the latest headlines, but we shouldn’t treat this scandal as an isolated incident. This is really a symptom of a much larger privacy problem and just one reason we need far more comprehensive privacy protections.
Jane, a pregnant woman, was asked to sign an authorization to release her personal health information to a pharmaceutical company before getting a prescription she needed to help insure the well-being of her and her unborn child. The doctor’s office called her and said she’d need to download and fax a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) authorization form before she could get her medication. She didn’t think much of it until she downloaded the form and read it. A few things didn’t add up.
If you are expecting a tax refund this year, it’s a good idea (in light of the recent Equifax breach, especially) to file your return as soon as possible to avoid someone stealing your refund. This can occur when someone uses another’s Social Security number to file a tax return in their name to claim their refund. Victims will likely be unaware that this has happened until they file their tax return and discover that another return already has been filed in their name.
Sharing some of your personal life through online dating apps and websites may be a necessary component of searching for a partner in today’s world. But are you sharing more than you think you are?