privacy law advocate l.d.a.

 California is a pioneer when it comes to identity theft legislation. As much as the law attempts to protect us from others using our identity unlawfully ultimately we are our own best protectors. Read up on employment related identity theft and use of stolen identities to create off the books income in California. Protect yourself by knowing your rights and how to be proactive in protecting your identity in California. If, heaven forbid, your identity is stolen research your resources and learn how to minimize your loses. Identity theft should not happen to anyone, but it never hurts to be prepared. For further information on California identity theft law check out:

http://identitytheft911.com/company/press/release.ext?sp=10546

The Computer Fraud Act 18 USC 1030  of 1986 criminalizes intercepting electronic communications and accessing or interrupting access to electronic storage devices and individuals. This statue provides a remedy for victims of hackers and persons pirating electronic transmissions  such as satellite television signals. A notable aspect of this statue includes a provision allowing law enforcement agencies to employ electronic surveillance techniques when investigating computer crimes with permission of an individual or company with out the need for court warrant. Supreme Court Brief on Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 (ECPA). For further information:

http://cio.energy.gov/ComputerFraud-AbuseAct.pdf

Electronic medical records have gained popularity. Privacy experts worry that this popularity may grow substantially. As doctors and hospitals switch from paper records to electronic medical records (EMR) it becomes easier for patient’s records to be breached. Read about recent concerns of privacy experts and a case in which a patient  experienced identity theft do to his breached EMR.

http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/living-well-usn/2008/02/29/medical-identity-theft-turns-patients-into-victims.html

 Used to be, your bank handled your checking and savings accounts. You visited your insurance agent for life, auto, or homeowner’s insurance. And, if you wanted to “play the market,” you called your stock broker. Recent federal legislation has changed all that. The Financial Services Modernization Act allows banks, insurance companies, and brokerage firms to operate as one.  The combined companies have been aptly dubbed “financial supermarkets”. It was partly in response to the creation of these financial supermarkets that the California Financial Information Privacy Act came about.  This Act provides Californians with some of the strongest financial privacy protections in the country. For further information on the California Financial Information Privacy Act

http://www.privacyrights.org/ar/SB1Info.htm#text

http://www.corp.ca.gov/FSD/privacy.asp

Part of protecting your identity is by knowing your rights regarding the information you give to others. Businesses who collect information on behave of their customers living in California, such as credit card applications and internet memberships, have obligations to you the customer to preserve your privacy. It is not only important that you know your rights but that you take quick action  to communicate to the company your privacy needs.

Senate Bill 1386  (SB1386) was introduced by Senator Peace  in July 2003. Since  being established into law SB1386 has established a right to privacy of information gathered by businesses in California and  has obligated companies to notify customers of a breach of that privacy. This privacy include geographic identifiers such as home and work addresses, numeric identifiers such as Social Security, credit card accounts, PIN and license numbers, personal identifiers such as names, login, validation (mother’s maiden name) and hint phases. Further information on  Senate Bill 1386 and how it effects the way business is allowed to handle your personal information in California can be found at:

http://www.informationshield.com/casb1386overview.htm

March 31, 2005 Senator Poochigian’s Identity Theft and Personal Privacy Act ( SB839) was killed in committees. On that very same day it was widely reported  that over 98,000 students at the University of California, Berkeley had their social security numbers compromised. Since then Senator Poochigian has authored and supported numerous other identity theft laws and is currently leading the effort on what is know as the Poochigain Identity Theft Package. This legislation includes four different laws these include penalties for the theft and trafficking of personal identifying information, creating new criminal penalty for phishing criminal identity theft involving victims being charged and prosecuted for the crime of criminals. and for adding identity theft to the California crime index. Check out this link for further information:

http://www.californiachronicle.com/articles/6177

The most difficult task a person faces is knowing who to trust with their private information. You are your best means  of defense in protecting your personal information. If a family member or attendant is paying your bills or has need to access your personal information be sure to have a password to protect your information and limit their access. Use paypal when ever buying over the internet so you can double check all transactions and of course use common sense. Using passwords and membership numbers instead of granting direct access to your information not only protects you from being scammed by outsiders but also allows you to change the password in order to limit access to others. This simple step can prevent you from having to close bank accounts or file police reports because of unauthorized access. Check out these articles on how to prevent internet crime and protect your private information:

http://www.tecrime.com/lifragen.htm

Paypal is an internet company that provides it’s customers with a means of paying for bills and merchandise over the internet. When you sign up with Paypal you provide them with your personal information such as bank account number and credit card number and they provide you with a membership account accessed by your e-mail. When you wish to pay a bill via the internet you simply provide the company with your e-mail address. Paypal provides a way station for holding payments requests. When a payment request is made by a company you receive a notice in your e-mail. You then have the option to grant their request or deny their request. Instead of passing out your credit card information to each individual company you wish to do business with you simply provide the information to Paypal and they send out the payments directly to the companies on your request. If you find someone has breached your e-mail account and has been using your Paypal account for unauthorized payments you don’t have to worry that the criminal has your personal information just your Paypal membership account access. The merchants or retailers receive payment from PayPal without ever seeing your financial information.Your private information remains private. For security tips and further information about Paypal check out:

https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=xpt/cps/securitycenter/general/UnderstandIdTheft-outside

One of the trickiest ways a hacker can get your information is by getting you to just hand it over on a silver platter. This type of scam is called phishing. Before answering an e-mail with your personal information be sure to go directly to the website of the company you want to have your information. Look for a padlock in the lower right hand corner which indicates a security page. If you point your mouse over the padlock it will show you who owns the security certification associated with the particular page. Check to see it matches the company you expect. For more tips check out the Office of Privacy Protection:

http://www.oispp.ca.gov/consumer_privacy/identitytheft.asp

The first thing you can do to protect your personal information is to have a password. Once someone has access to your information, the easier it is for them to copy it down and use it. Much like when you call the bank and they ask for your mother’s maiden name for security, a password can provide one more barrier to accessing your information. A password can not prevent illegal activity all together but it can prove the criminal has not just accidentally accessed your information, they must of really worked at it in order to break your password. The following link discusses the importants of passwords:

http://www.techsoup.org/learningcenter/internet/page6912.cfm