Like so many emails these days you can't believe everything that comes into your inbox. A recent example of some of the half truths contained in well-intentioned emails includes the following which has been making the rounds on the Internet:

If you are like most people, you don’t really want to read privacy policies.  They aren’t typically easy to understand.   Nor are they often descriptive enough for you to actually grasp what a company is doing with your information. Even so, we believe they can be valuable tools to help you protect your personal information.  You might discover privacy settings and choices you were unaware of.   You will also find that some companies take your privacy more seriously than others, which may help you choose who to do business with.

Comments Submitted by PrivacyActivism and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse to the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human and Services

January 18, 2005

Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
Department of Health and Human Services
Hubert H. Humphrey Building, Room 517D
200 Independence Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20201
Filed electronically: NHINRFI@hhs.gov

RE: Comments on National Health Information Network – Request for Information

Submitted to the Federal Reserve Board by
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse
Electronic Privacy Information Center
CALPIRG and
U.S. PIRG

Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
20th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20551
Submitted: regs.comments@federalreserve.gov

RE: Comments -- Open-End (Revolving) Credit Rules – Docket No. R-1217

Dear Secretary Johnson:

Dylan received a phone call at work (by name) that offered him a free cholesterol screening as part of a research study by Astrazenica. He was told that they received his name from a patient list at his health insurance company. Concerned about his name being given for a study without his permission, he contacted his health insurance company.

Presentation by Beth Givens, Director
at Identity Theft Summit on March 1, 2005
Sacramento, CA, Convention Center

Conference sponsored by California District Attorneys Association, California Office of Privacy Protection (Calif. Dept. of Consumer Affairs), and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

March 4, 2005

Donald Hilla, Senior Staff Counsel
California Department of Insurance
45 Fremont Street, 21st Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105

Submitted electronically: hillad@insurance.ca.gov

RE: File No. ER05043832 – Property Loss Databases

Dear Mr. Hilla:

Derecho de Autor © 1991-2006.
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse / UCAN
Revised March 2005.

ChoicePoint, Bank of America Scandals Underscore Weakness of Current Laws

The recent security breaches of sensitive customer information held by ChoicePoint and Bank of America have underscored how vulnerable consumers are to threats of identity theft and the need for stronger protections to reduce such fraud. Watchdog groups are calling for new laws that provide proper oversight of businesses that collect and sell sensitive consumer information and tougher safeguards to give consumers the tools they need to stop identity theft before it starts.

UPDATE: As of noon, February 28, the credit bureaus began to allow linking to the annualcreditreport.com site from other sites. To see what the previous non-linking "blacklisted" message looked like prior to the credit bureaus' change in policy, see  Figure 2 in the Call Don't Click report.