Knopf, Keith wrote:
>
> One of clients claims he saw a talk show not too long ago (Dateline, 20/20,
> etc) where they told how you could do a computer search and find an
> individual's tax return and his or her employment history, amongst other
> things. Quite naturally, he now wants us to perform such a search. Is
> anyone aware of the particulars of this show (was there such a show, summary
> of what was said, etc)?
>
> Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.
>
> Keith S Knopf
> Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter
> Columbus, OH
>
> knopfks@kbhr.com
Keith: From your description, I believe I saw that same show. The
general theme was one that we are familiar with: the increasing lack of
privacy in the information age. It included interviews with several
people who had to deal with situations where their private affairs,
financial and otherwise, were invaded. In one instance, a married
couple discovered that the husband's ex-wife had attempted, with some
success, to track their financial matters, including credit card
purchases, to justify her request for an increase in support. Also a
private investigator, who had been convicted of hacking into databases
to obtain personal information, was interviewed. I think it was his
interview that probably sparked your client's interest. The PI
mentioned legitimate databases like CDB Infotek, but then mentioned that
it is now fairly simple to hack into almost any database today,
including government databases. He also illustrated how easy it was to
get employment information on any individual, such as calling a former
employer and pretending to be a prospective employer. Of course, he
assured the interviewer that he no longer engaged in such practices!
There was some attempt to distinguish between what is public, and thus
legally obtainable, information, from what is private information,
during the show. During that segment, Beth Givens, Director of the
Privacy Rights Clearinghouse here in San Diego was interviewed. (FYI:
the Clearinghouse has a great website, see www.privacyrights.org) Hope
this information helps!
-- Joan Allen-Hart, Branch Librarian jallhart@sdcll.org North County Branch 760-940-4386 voice San Diego County Public Law Library 760-724-7694 fax
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