Release Of Your Personal Info *SCAM Alert*
The ClubHouse: Archives: Release Of Your Personal Info *SCAM Alert*
Littlebreeze | Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 11:03 am     Many of you may already have heard about this. I had not until I received an email from a friend of mine today. Like me, he trusts nothing on the web because there are so many hoaxes and so much misinformation. He did not want to pass this along until he felt secure in its legitimacy. I'll cut, copy and paste his email below. As you will see, he's already received his written confirmation by mail. I've just completed the phone call to remove my name. It appeared legit to me but you, of course, need to make your own decisions. If anyone has any further information about this, you may want to post it here. I know I'd appreciate that. Should you choose to make this call, be sure to follow the exact prompts specified below so that you're removed permanently and not just for the short term. You will need to press option #2 and then option #3. There are enough people out there already with access to our personal info. We certainly don't need anymore. Here's the letter from my friend.... Just wanted to let everyone know who hasn't already heard, the four major credit bureaus in the US will be allowed, starting July 1, to release your credit info, mailing addresses, phone numbers, etc., to anyone who requests it. If you would like to 'opt out' of this release of your info, you can call 1-888-567-8688. It only takes a couple of minutes to do, and you can take care of anyone else in the household while making only one call, you'll just need to know their social security number. Once the message starts you'll want option #2 and then option #3. Be sure to listen closely, the first option is only for a two year period. Make sure you wait until they prompt for the third option which opts you out forever. I received their paperwork in the mail confirming my 'opting out' within less than one week of making the call. |
Twiggyish | Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 11:13 am     LB, I hate to tell you this and please don't take it wrong, but this is a scam. This is copied directly from www.snopes.com : Claim: The four major U.S. credit bureaus are allowed to share your credit information with anyone who requests it as of July 1 2001 unless you specifically request to be excluded. Status: False. Example: [Collected on the Internet, 2001] Just wanted to let everyone know who hasn't already heard, the four major credit bureaus in the US. will be allowed, starting July 1, to release your credit info, mailing addresses, phone numbers etc. to anyone who requests it. If you would like to 'opt out' of this release of info, you can call 1-888-567-8688. It only takes a couple of minutes to do, and you can take care of anyone else in the household while making only one call, you'll just need to know their social security number. Be sure to listen closely, the first opt out is only for two years, make sure you wait until they prompt you to press '3' on your keypad to opt out for good. Origins: The message quoted above contains some useful information, but it includes some misinformation as well. The key point is that -- contrary to the text of the above dire warning -- credit bureaus cannot sell your credit information to "anyone who requests it." Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1997, businesses seeking to obtain personal information from credit bureaus must have a "permissible purpose" in order to access credit reports. (Permissible purposes include checking the backgrounds of persons to determine their creditworthiness before selling or renting property to them, extending them loans or credit, or considering them for employment.) This restriction remains in force, it did not change on July 1, and it still applies whether or not you call the number listed above. What has changed is that due to the recent implementation of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act) the banking, insurance, and securities industries are now allowed to operate under the same corporate affiliation. (This act set aside legislation passed during the Depression era, which had created legal barriers that prevented mergers between banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions.) Because of consumers' concerns that new financial conglomerates could violate their privacy by sharing huge new databases of sensitive customer information with third parties, Congress added a provision to the act requiring that all financial service companies send privacy notices providing a "reasonable opportunity" to opt out of this information-sharing to all their customers by July 1. (These notices must also tell you the kinds of information the companies collect about you and how they use that information.) Some key points of this "opt-out" process are: As the term "opt out" implies, financial institutions can share your information with third parties by default -- you must specifically request that they not do so to stop it. Privacy notices had to be sent to customers by July 1 2001, but there is no deadline by which customers must respond. Your right to "opt out" of the information-sharing process is ongoing and may be invoked at any time. Most importantly, you must contact every financial institution with which you do business to completely "opt out" of the information-sharing process. The phone number shown in the message quoted above (1-888-5OPTOUT) is a shared number the four credit bureaus set up with Associated Credit Bureaus to establish a single point of contact for consumers to call to request that all four major U.S. credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Trans Union, and Novus/Innovis) remove their information from the marketing lists and pre-approved credit offer lists sold to third parties. This number applies only to credit bureaus -- calling this number will not affect the ability of any banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, brokerage firms, or any other financial institutions with which you do (or have done) business from sharing your information. Soon after the original message began circulating, so did an egregiously inaccurate counter-message which attempted to "correct" the original by spreading even more misinformation: If anyone has received the e-mail OPT OUT @ Credit Bureaus - You need to read this! Myvesta.org has just received the potential scam message, at the bottom of this alert message, which is circulating by email. We urge you to NOT call the phone number listed in any similar message you may receive. The danger of this message is that at face value it seems legitimate and when you call the toll-free number in the message it sounds very professional. It is a scam. There are several critical flaws in the message. First, credit bureaus are not authorized to release your personal information to just anyone. The Fair Credit Reporting Act governs the permissible access of credit report information and access to just anyone who wants your information, is not one of those permissible reasons. Second, when you call the toll-free number there is no identification of the party you have reached. If you fall for this scam and call the toll-free number you will be tricked into giving critical identifying information under the false pretense it will protect you from a scam. If you know anyone who may have already fallen for this scam, you should contact them right away and advise them to monitor their credit report carefully over the next year and watch for new credit accounts they do not recognize. If they called the number and left their personal information,a crook could possibly open lines of credit using their information. This is serious. If you have already fallen for this scam and think you may be a victim of identity theft, we have made the following free publication, "Identity Theft: How to protect yourself and what to do if you are a victim" available through our Web site. It is located in the Identity Theft section of our free publication directory. Visit http://Myvesta.org If you need to access a current copy of your credit report you can do so through the Myvesta.org Web site or contact the resource you normally use to obtain a copy of your credit report. If you need additional help understanding your credit report once you obtain it, download our free publication "How to Read Your Credit Report" in the free publication section of the Myvesta.org Web site at http://Myvesta.org Please forward this message to anyone you want to warn about this serious credit scam. Below you will find a copy of the scam email which is currently circulating.There may be other similar ariations. Sincerely, The financial team at Myvesta.org That Myvesta (a debt-counseling service) would declare this number a "scam" is completely irresponsible. It is true that the recorded message on the 1-888-567-8688 phone number does not supply any identifying information, but that doesn't mean it must be part of a "scam" -- as noted above, the number was set up by the major credit bureaus in cooperation with Associated Credit Bureaus, an international trade organization, to establish a single point of contact for consumers who wish opt out of receiving "pre-approved" credit offers. A minimal amount of research would have revealed that this number is indeed valid and has been operating for many months, but spending a few minutes to gather accurate information before sending out error-filled scarelore apparently isn't imporant to Myvesta. I certainly wouldn't ever do business with such a company. The bottom line is that laws regarding the selling of personal information by financial institutions have become more stringent recently, not less. The changes may not have made the laws as stringent as we'd like them to be, but at least they're a step in the right direction, not the scare stories these messages make them out to be. |
Littlebreeze | Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 11:19 am     Not at all taken wrong, Twiggy. That's the exact kind of input I wanted and it's greatly appreciated. Thanks!!.... not only from me but on the behalf of many. |
Twiggyish | Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 11:22 am     You're welcome. I always go to snopes when I'm curious. |
Littlebreeze | Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 11:40 am     I'd never heard of Snopes, Twiggy. You better believe I'm keeping it on file now, thanks to you. I wonder if maybe Admin should delete this thread so noone else gets suckered or if it's best to leave it up for the same reasons. Hopefully, everyone would read past my initial post to your post. I hope so but I definitely wouldn't want anyone else calling that number because of something I posted. |
Littlebreeze | Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 12:15 pm     Thank you, Admin!! I very much appreciate your taking such quick action on my request. Amending the title of this thread to "Scam Alert" will hopefully keep anyone else from falling into possible trouble. |
Moderator | Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 12:35 pm     Ur quite welcome, LB! (K) |
Juju2bigdog | Thursday, April 25, 2002 - 04:55 pm     Here are a couple more internet hoax sites I use: Vmyths, Virus Hoaxes Symantec Security, for real virus information Truth or Fiction |
|