taylor@hplabs.HP.COM (Dave Taylor) (05/03/87)
An interesting article from RISKS-Digest volume 4 #79: PNB CANCELS 976 NUMBER FOR PERSONAL-DATA COMPANY Seattle (AP) -- Pacific Northwest Bell has canceled the 976-prefix toll-call number of a Seattle company that obtains and sells information about individuals. The company had sent post cards to thousands of Seattle residents, offering to delete data about them from company files if they called the telephone number--a call that cost $7.50. After PNB attorneys alleged that the post cards could involve extortion, the phone company canceled Profile Service Corp.'s 976 number Monday, the first time such action had been taken in the Seattle area, said PNB spokesman Bruce Amundson. But Jan Sakamoto, Profile's president, said the company did nothing wrong and would appeal the phone company's action to the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission. "I don't think it's blackmail or fraud," Sakamoto said. Instead, he said, his company was "catching the brunt of people's ire at not being able to control information about themselves." Commission spokesman Raymond Day said PNB apparently was within its rights in canceling the number. The commission allows PNB to cut off service "without prior notice, for unlawful use of service or use of service for unlawful purposes," Day said. Seattle news media, the state attorney general's office, the Utilities and Transportation Commission, the Postal Service and PNB have received numerous complaints about the cards, which were mailed to 20,000 Seattle residents. The card read: "Profile Service Corp. knows some personal things about you that other people might like to know. Our company's computer files contain names, telephone numbers, complete addresses, credit reports and other important pieces of information about you. We have purchased this information from a variety of public and private sources." The card then advised consumers to call its 976 number to have the number deleted from its computer files. The $7.50 charge for the call would be billed to caller's phone numbers, with most of the charge being remitted by PNB to Profile. People who called the number will have the charge deleted from their phone bills, Amundson said. - - -
touch@svax.cs.cornell.edu (Joseph Touch) (05/08/87)
Along these same lines, how do we feel about a company (TRW) which both maintains such credit information, and offers a service (for a fee, of course) to tell you when someone accesses your information. Are they (or we) not aware that we have a right to inspect such information (in many states) at will, without paying their subscription fee? Should the commercial for such be banned from airing on TV? Just a thought.
taylor@hplabsc.UUCP (05/12/87)
Joseph Touch writes about credit information bureaus: > Are they (or we) not aware that we have a right to inspect such > information (in many states) at will, without paying their subscription fee? It is certainly true that some of us are not aware that we have a right (in many states) to see this information at will. I am aware of my right to see information used in denying me credit. I did not (and do not) know of any right to see information about me that some company has gathered and wishes to sell. Would someone please elaborate on the nature of such laws and the states in which they are applicable? -- Jim Davis