Volume 5, Issue 4    |    Back to Publications

Who is Kidding Who?

America's privacy mavens were served a feast in February when ChoicePoint, one of the World's leading providers of identification and credential information publicly disclosed that a group of well-organized criminals were able to obtain personal information on almost 140,000 consumers from it while posing as legitimate business operators. To date only one conviction has been handed down, but authorities say that their "investigation" is continuing. Meanwhile, ChoicePoint and other data brokers have begun to impose new restrictions on the amount of information they sell to non-government customers. Among the restrictions is the truncation of Social Security numbers. In a form letter to customers, Mr. David Lee, Senior Vice President, Public Records Division wrote, "We are making changes to our public records products to help ensure sensitive personal information is not misused. On February 14, we truncated Social Security numbers (SSN) and driver's license numbers (DL), and we changed the date of birth (DOB) format for most of our customer base." In the same letter Mr. Lee announced ChoicePoint's intention to, "exit from the sale of non-FCRA, sensitive personal data to clients that do not meet one of three criteria:

• Governmental and criminal justice agencies.
• Large, accredited corporate customers that use the information for authentication or fraud prevention purposes.
• Other businesses whose use is driven by a consumer-initiated transaction.

California Association of Licensed Investigators Speaks Out

The following is a press released by the California Association of Licensed Investigators this month:

In the wake of revelations that approximately 310,000 users of the Lexis-Nexis information system were the victims of data theft, the California Association of Licensed Investigators (CALI), the worlds largest organization of private detectives, is bringing more than 100 private investigators to Sacramento on April 18, 2005 to support the passage of bills that will enhance penalties against identity theft, provide access to information sources to enable private investigators to continue to effectively combat identity theft and other frauds, and to protect the privacy rights of Californians.

According to Berkeley Private Eye Clarick Brown, President of CALI, "We are calling our 2005 legislative program 'PI's For Privacy' which is a continuation of one of our basic themes: enhancing the constitutional privacy rights of Californians and all Americans by giving Private Investigators the tools they need to expose identity theft and fraud."

John Eppick, CALI's Legislative Chair, indicated that a long term policy goal of the organization is to ensure that laws designed to combat identity theft by restricting access to data bases includes exemptions for legitimate uses of information by Private Investigators. "With police agencies and federal law enforcement hard pressed to keep up with violent crime and the increased risk of terrorism, private investigators are more frequently picking up the slack in combating data and identity theft and fraud, which are traditional specialties of our profession. It is imperative that legislation be crafted both at the state and national levels that ensures that we have continued access to data that enable us to catch thieves and rip-off artists."

Fact: A recent survey conducted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners reveals that of all frauds reported 82% of perpetrators are first time offenders; 47% are women; 31% of the crimes are never reported to law enforcement; and 26% of victim organizations never take legal action for fear of publicity. The report also estimated that 9% of all fraudsters have college degrees. (Source: ACFE)

Prepaid Phones Getting a Bad Reputation

In theory, having consumers pay in advance for services is a great idea. It eliminates bad debt for the vendor, and eliminates painful and annoying service delays for the customer. Prepaid cell phones have been a huge industry in Europe and Asia for some time and are taking off in the US, allowing some to have a cell phone when they might not otherwise. Out of 175 million cellular customers in the US, 22 million customers are estimated to utilize prepaid services.

So where's the problem? That same lack of accountability that draws users to prepaid wireless phones in the first place, that's where. In fact, Japan's largest cellular carrier is considering shutting down its small prepaid business due to a need to cut down on illegal activity. In Japan, only 2.8 million users (out of an estimated 85 million total) use prepaid services, and the service, has long been associated with illegal aliens and transients who favor it for its "anonymity factor." Easy to obtain, prepaid services rarely require financial information or a permanent address from subscribers. In some parts of Europe, a name may not even be required! This kind of anonymity makes it easy for criminals to perpetrate scams and commit frauds, and worse yet, allows terrorists to communicate with one another. Fortunately, some countries are looking to pass legislation to prevent the misuse of this popular technology. In December, 2004, Switzerland's largest phone company blocked the numbers of over 130,000 users who had failed to comply with the company's request to provide their names and a verifiable address.

Does this mean a slowdown for prepaid phones? Not likely. Though some companies are contemplating withdrawal from the market, others see a gap to fill with prepaid services. In fact, one company is marketing its prepaid services as not only cost conscious, but safety-savvy, marketing its inexpensive phones as a hotline between children and parents. Time will tell if the strategy works and who really wins.

Speaking of ... cell phones for kids, the Firefly by SunCom is a new phone constructed with kids in mind. Small, simple and sturdy, this phone is meant for kids but controlled by mom and dad, who are responsible for programming in the 20-capacity, PIN-protected numbers. The phone also has speed dial keys on the face for mom, dad, and emergency calls, with accidental call prevention. Geared toward the 8-12 year old crowd, the Firefly comes with-what else? Prepaid service.

Big Brother is Watching, But Who Cares?

Before the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area Transit Authority moves forward with its plan to add 125 cameras to its buses (at the cost of $8,000 per bus), it might want to hear what the Brits have to say about how well the cameras work. Since the 1990's, London has spent almost $325 million installing 4.2 million cameras to observe London's streets, shopping centers, and rail stations in an effort to deter crime. And for their investment, they got.nothing. Londoners claim to feel no safer than they did before because the cameras have not shown to be a deterrent to crime. With the exception of the cameras in public parking lots, support for the cameras has waned to almost nothing, and the government has admitted that it will spend no more on the project.

In theory, the cameras sound like a good idea; however, an expert involved in the project admits that for the cameras to be successful in deterring crime, human intervention must take place. In Washington D.C. this seems to already be common knowledge, as police officers have been riding the buses to identify perpetrators-and have been making arrests. It is not yet known if the officers will continue to ride the buses, keeping drivers and passengers safe, but taking the officers off the bus to replace them with cameras is unlikely to be as effective.

Quote of the Month: "Opportunity is missed by most people because it comes dressed in overalls and looks like work." - Thomas A. Edison

E-mail Security and the Right to Privacy

Your e-mail address may have your name on it, but that does not protect it from the peering eyes of your employer, even if you are the CEO. Such was the lesson learned recently by Harry Stonecipher, the popular Chief Exec at Boeing, who got the boot after an affair with a co-worker was uncovered when several very private e-mails he had written were leaked to company officials. But for all the hoopla over Stonecipher's indiscretion, the monitoring of office e-mail is nothing new. "As an employee, you have no rights whatsoever," when it comes to e-mail on either company equipment or through a company account, says a prominent Denver employment lawyer. In fact, most employees do not even have the right to know if they are being monitored, unless they work in Delaware or New Jersey. Though most monitoring is intended to seek out company information that may be leaking from the organization, internal e-mail is also subject to scrutiny. Management consultants agree that internal communication is more likely to contain inappropriate content or language than external communication, simply because employees "play it fast and loose" with internal email.

So how does it work? Though some organizations hire staff-really-to read individual outgoing messages, other organizations are taking the high-tech road and utilize increasingly sophisticated electronic systems to monitor e-mail. As would be expected, an entire industry has been born. Amazingly enough, one of the pioneers is MessageGate, which was started by Boeing, and spun off as a stand-alone company in 2003. The best advice: Don't ever put something in an e-mail that might embarrass you should it be read by someone other than the intended recipient.

Marijuana: A Greater Health Risk Than Parents Realize

Recent research shows that marijuana is a greater health hazard than previously thought. Today's marijuana contains up to four times the amount of carcinogens as cigarettes and poses the same respiratory health risks. And, research shows that marijuana is addictive. Each year more teens enter drug treatment facilities with a primary diagnosis of marijuana dependence than for all other illicit drugs combined. Parents of teens today are talking less and less to their kids about the risks associated with drugs and alcohol.¹

Health Hazards and Effects

Usually smoked as a cigarette or joint, or in a pipe or bong, marijuana has appeared in "blunts" in recent years. These are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and re-filled with marijuana, sometimes in combination with another drug, such as crack. Some users also mix marijuana into foods or use it to brew tea.

The main active chemical in marijuana is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Short-term effects of marijuana use include problems with memory and learning; distorted perception; difficulty in thinking and problem-solving; loss of coordination; and increased heart rate, anxiety, and panic attacks.

Health Hazards

Researchers have found that THC changes the way in which sensory information reaches and is acted on by the hippocampus. This is a component of the brain's limbic system that is crucial for learning, memory, and the integration of sensory experiences with emotions and motivations. Investigations have shown that THC suppresses neurons in the information-processing system of the hippocampus. In addition, researchers have discovered that learned behaviors, which depend on the hippocampus, also deteriorate.

Someone who smokes marijuana regularly may have many of the same respiratory problems that tobacco smokers have. These individuals may have a daily cough and phlegm, symptoms of chronic bronchitis, and more frequent chest colds. Continuing to smoke marijuana can lead to abnormal functioning of lung tissue injured or destroyed by marijuana smoke.

Regardless of the THC content, the amount of tar inhaled by marijuana smokers and the level of carbon monoxide absorbed are three to five times greater than among tobacco smokers. This may be due to marijuana users inhaling more deeply and holding the smoke in the lungs.

Effects of Heavy Marijuana Use on Learning and Social Behavior.

A study of college students has shown that critical skills related to attention, memory, and learning are impaired among people who use marijuana heavily, even after discontinuing its use for at least 24 hours. Researchers compared 65 "heavy users," who had smoked marijuana a median of 29 of the past 30 days, and 64 "light users," who had smoked a median of 1 of the past 30 days. After a closely monitored 19- to 24-hour period of abstinence from marijuana and other illicit drugs and alcohol, the undergraduates were given several standard tests measuring aspects of attention, memory, and learning. Compared to the light users, heavy marijuana users made more errors and had more difficulty sustaining attention, shifting attention to meet the demands of changes in the environment, and in registering, processing, and using information. The findings suggest that the greater impairment among heavy users is likely due to an alteration of brain activity produced by marijuana.

Longitudinal research on marijuana use among young people below college age indicates those who used have lower achievement than the non-users, more acceptance of deviant behavior, more delinquent behavior and aggression, greater rebelliousness, poorer relationships with parents, and more associations with delinquent and drug-using friends.

¹Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Partnership Attitude Tracking Study 2003

Quote of the Month: The successful person makes a habit of doing what the failing person doesn't like to do. - Thomas Edison.

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