Fordham University had a symposium the other day where they discussed Personal Privacy in the 21st Century. i.e. yesterday. They discussed how privacy issues didn’t used to occur. How people then could expect to have their personal information held safely. The advent of fast computers, massive data storage, AND the ability to utilize personal information expanded like never before
There’s always the strong balance between what’s best for society and what’s best for the individual. Yeah, I get that, however, its been used many times to the detriment of society. Take electronic medical records. They’re easy to get, sometimes shared with or between insurance companies. Companies have in the past actually refused certain insurance to individuals because of the pre-existing condition that the insurance company found out about.
Personal information can also be used for criminal means. This information is literally everywhere from mortgage brokers, your bank, your doctor (and dentist), phone company, etc……. Do you think they all take proper care of your information, and shred or destroy it when appropriate. If not, it becomes a target of criminal and other unwanted users. Someone could take your information and steal your identity in one of the worst case scenarios.
Always remember to be on the lookout for people who may call your phone number trying to even get your personal information to use for inappropriate means. If you do get unwanted calls from anyone, don’t answer it and do a lookup on a reverse phone directory.
A new review on CallCatalog.com was just featured on a popular blog. Here’s an excerpt from the website, in the article “Great New Reverse Phone Number Lookup Tool” ….Just what you need to stop telemarketers from calling you in violation of the donotcall laws….
Thanks for the nice words Robert 
Officials just uncovered a fake parking ticket scam where people would be given a ticket that looks like the real thing. The only difference is that the ticket directed users to a scam website where users enter their personal information, credit card number and (yes) push submit. Once that happens the website says, thank you for paying your ticket.
Ok, here are a few things to consider. FIRST: always consider what website you’re going to, does it look legitimate? In this case, not quite, plus it wasn’t associated with a government website. SECOND: If you’re not sure, reach out and ask someone. In this case, goto the local government website. They probably have a link to their ticket payment website. THIRD: Whenever you’re asked to provide personal information, double check who you’re giving it to, and ensure they legitimately need the information.
Unfortunately, these people may get their identities stolen, have money taken out of their credit cards, etc. They may even get placed on telemarketing scam phone number lists where you could get scammed another way via the phone…unwanted calls, etc…
I was reading the news today and noticed that there were a significant number of articles related to personal privacy. This is an unfortunate circumstance of the data-sharing environment we live in. As data is used and shared, scammers, unwanted callers, and other people will call you from an unknown phone number. They may use your private information to do unethical things. For example, electronic medical records are a rapidly evolving technology. They’re supposed to make the doctor’s work easier. However, this raises privacy concerns that a dishonest person could hack into the system to steal your private information. Additionally, its much easier to share this information with other businesses or individuals to invade your privacy.
Then who knows what the repurcussions would be. One I’m sure of is that people may call you from unknown phone numbers with more information in hand. Its always very important that you NEVER give out any private information when someone calls you. And as always, when they do call you can get information on them when you do a lookup at a free reverse phone directory.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and four other states are suing the Dish Network because they’re calling people on the do-not-call list.
You’d think that big companies would abide by the simple do-not-call law, but they don’t. If they don’t get the monthly data or actively choose not to do it you’ll get calls. Keep in mind that the law doesn’t apply to charities. You should always ensure your name is on the do not call list. AND when you do get phone calls from unknown or unwanted callers, you can always look them up on the reverse phone directory here. See below for an excerpt of the news…..
The U.S. Department of Justice, at the Federal Trade Commission’s request, filed suit today in federal district court charging that satellite television provider Dish Network, directly and through its authorized dealers, called numerous consumers whose numbers are on the National Do Not Call Registry. The United States also charged Dish Network, previously known as EchoStar, with violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) by assisting and supporting its authorized dealers in telemarketing Dish Network services via “robocalls” that deliver prerecorded telemarketing messages when consumers answer their phones.
“Since the National Do Not Call Registry was launched, it has been enormously effective at protecting millions of Americans from unwanted telemarketing calls at home,” said Eileen Harrington, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “But because a few bad actors still don’t get it, we want to make it crystal clear. If you call consumers whose numbers are on the Do Not Call Registry, you’re breaking the law. If your authorized dealers call consumers whose numbers are on the Registry, you’re breaking the law. Either way, we will protect the privacy of American consumers and we will hold you accountable.”