Prepaid cards, also known as “general purpose reloadable cards”, have become increasingly popular in the past few years, among both consumers with and without a bank account. According to a recent report by The Pew Charitable Trusts, approximately 1 in 11 consumers use a prepaid card at least once per month, and 27% of these users do not have a checking account.

Introduction of Award Recipient, Associate Professor Kristen Walker, PhD
CSUN Department of Marketing

By Beth Givens, Executive Director, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

April 5, 2016

I’m honored to be invited to introduce Associate Professor Kristen Walker, the recipient of the Jerome Richfield Scholar award. I’ve also been invited to say a few words about consumer privacy.

Alert for California Parents of School-Age Children:

California School Students’ Information Scheduled to be Released

The Identity Theft Resource Center and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse want to alert all parents of school-aged children throughout California about a pending deadline to object to the potential release of their child’s sensitive personal identifying information. The deadline for parents and adult students to object to the disclosure of personal information and records is April 1, 2016.

Tax season is here, and with it come scammers and identity thieves hoping to profit.  Here are Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s (PRC) top tips and resources to help you protect your privacy, your money, and your identity.  

National Academies of Sciences Forum
Data Breach Aftermath and Recovery for Individuals and Institutions

“An On-the-Ground Look at Consumer Impacts of Data Breaches”
Presentation by Beth Givens, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse

January 12, 2016

Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

I’m Beth Givens, executive director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. The organization’s mission is to empower and educate consumers to protect their privacy. It’s a nonprofit organization located in San Diego.

Organized sports are a great way to keep kids engaged, teach them new skills, and provide them with an opportunity to socialize with other kids.  Privacy isn’t likely to be top of mind when you enroll your kids in sports, but it is important to note that leagues often gather a tremendous amount of personal and potentially sensitive information pertaining to your child and even you.  If it isn’t handled properly, there is an increased risk that the information could be compromised and even lead to identity theft or financial fraud.

This list is intended to provide names of private firms that appear to assemble, gather and maintain permanent databases of criminal records in the U.S. that are sold directly to the public or to background screening firms. This list is not presented or intended to be a complete list of all such firms. This list is based upon industry research and publicly-available information. If anyone has any additional information that may be relevant to this list, or a firm on this list has any questions, they should contact the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse at: webmaster@privacyrights.org

With the holiday shopping season upon us, stores and malls will probably be busier. Shoppers may need to deal with frantic conditions and are more likely to let their guard down than during other times of the year.  Scam artists and fraudsters know this, so they will be out waiting for you to be forgetful or make a mistake.  Privacy Rights Clearinghouse wants you to know how you can help protect your privacy while shopping.

Author and Copyright Holder:  Lester S. Rosen, Esq. CEO of Employment Screening Resources (ESR) 

There are many applications that our children use to talk to their friends, gather information and express themselves.  As parents, we want the Internet to be a safe and enjoyable experience for our children and teens. But we may not know all the resources available to us to make that happen. Below are some basic privacy tips and useful resources.