.............ALERT
#2003-2............
ALERT ITEM SUMMARY:
***Organization Building Meeting: 1 July 2003, 7:30 PM, Franconia Government
Center***
***Fairfax County Tax Assessment Web Site Problem Update***
***Virginia "Public" Records Problem Update***
***National Issues: HIPAA; BCIS Rules SSN NOT Required to Work in the US
***Commercial Privacy: "Wal-Mart to Require Smart Tags"***
***Privacy Tips***
***Fairfax County Privacy Friendly Merchant: Jiffy Lube @ 6701 Backlick Road,
Springfield, VA
Welcome! This message is
intended for members of the Fairfax County Privacy Council, and anyone else who
might be interested in advancing privacy in
Privacy Notice: All
communication from the Fairfax Privacy Council is sent using blind carbon copy
("BCC") format for your security and privacy.
1.
2. Fairfax County Tax Assessment Web
Site Problem Update: As we told you in Alert # 2001-1, inexplicably,
the County of Fairfax Tax Assessment Office hosts a web site that allows
strangers to search your street address (no town or zip code required) and find
out the full legal names of all owners (see http://www.co.fairfax.va.us/dta/re/propadd.asp).
This web site is the perfect place for marketers, stalkers, and identity
thieves to invade your privacy or even harm your family - sort of a stalker's
web site of choice. But thanks to Lee District County Supervisor Dana Kauffman,
the county staff is now preparing a report for supervisors on the advisability
of continuing this practice, and the following web "Opt Out" policy
now appears on the tax assessment web site: "Owner names will be withheld from the Internet record upon
request. Comments or requests may be made via e-mail to the Real Estate
Division at dtared@fairfaxcounty.gov or by phone at (703) 222-8234." Take Action! Tell your friends, neighbors, and associates
about this web site so they can both opt out and ask their
----------------Here's what one Fairfax County Resident had to say to her
co-workers by email about the Fairfax County Tax Assessment Web Site:
"If you own property in
3. Commercial Privacy:
"Wal-Mart to Require Smart Tags," The Associated Press,
June 13, 2003
"NEW YORK -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, is
requiring all of its top 100 suppliers to have "smart tags" for
better
inventory tracking on their pallet shipments by early 2005...." Take Action: Educate yourself on commercial surveillance
realities and dangers at http://www.nocards.org.
3. The Virginia "Public"
Records Problem: South America moves to secure personal data in
government records while Virginia digitizes their "public" records -
which contain your sensitive date: "Data-collection company stops selling
information on Mexicans," The Associated Press, June 11, 2003
[Corrected version]
ALPHARETTA, Ga. - Stung by a scandal in Mexico, a top U.S. data-gathering
company says it has scrapped its practice of obtaining and selling personal
information on Mexican citizens. ChoicePoint Inc. had acquired databases of
personal information from a Mexican company, a collection that authorities in
that country say included millions of confidential voter records. The Mexican
records were among digital dossiers on hundreds of millions of residents of 10
Latin American countries obtained by ChoicePoint, apparently without their
consent or knowledge..." See: http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/business/6_11_03spy.html
As we reported in Alert # 2003-1, unfortunately, here in the Commonwealth of
Virginia, despite passage in the house of a bill (HB 2426, see http://www.fauquiernews.com/021403issue.htm)
that would have stopped the Internet publication of you and your families
sensitive personal data (like SSNs, dates of birth, financial account numbers,
and minor childrens' names) on the Internet by government sponsored web
servers, special interests and the machinations of some state legislators like
Fairfax County Delegate Jean Marie Devolites (see www.fauquiernews.com/02103issue.htm)
and Fairfax County Senators Jay O'brien and Leslie Byrne killed this bill in
the Senate by changing it to merely require that strangers first
"register" for Internet access to all your private data held in
public records such as land records, marriage records, and various licenses and
permits. Delegate Devolites has led a special committee to study the public
record problem for over a year - and has yet to issue the report required of
the committee by law! Clearly, she is the leader of an effort to stall reform
while your sensitive personal data hemorrhages into the public domain. And now,
the state plans to actually sell the personal data of citizens who obtain
boating, hunting, or fishing licenses! See: http://www.opcva.com/watchdog.
Government should secure citizen data, not sell it! See http://www.opcva.com/watchdog/020303.html
to find all the Virginia Delegates who voted against HB2426 this year which,
had it passed in original form, would have protected your privacy. The
following Delegates voted against HB2426, a law that would have kept
your SSN, date of birth, and other sensitive data embedded in
"public" records off the Internet:
Del. James F. Almand -
Take Action: Let your local candidates for General
Assembly Delegate and Senator know that you want the sensitive personal data
held in "public records" not just taken off the Internet, but
declared NON-PUBLIC! Most of these folks above are running for election again
and may intend to keep the government in the business of selling your sensitive
data to everyone - marketers and foreign nationals and governments
included. See http://legis.state.va.us
for legislator contact info.
4. HIPAA: As we told you in
Alert # 2003-1, certain federal privacy regulations issued pursuant to HIPAA
(the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) took effect in April
causing the popular press to report a "massive" increase in medical
privacy. Not true says many experts who maintain that HIPAA puts us all at risk
by requiring the digitization of medical records correlated to a unique
national medical ID number to which you and your kids will be tracked by
private companies and government agencies without your permission. Take Action: Educate yourself on medical privacy viewpoints
at http://www.sfweekly.com/issues/2003-05-28/feature.html/1/index.html
("Big Doctor Is Watching: As of April 14, the national security police can
monitor your medical records without your knowledge; So can the local police,
San Francisco Weekly, by Peter Byrne.)
5. BCIS Rules SSN NOT Required to
Work in the US: The Bureau of Customs and Immigration Services
("BCIS"), a new agency within the Department of Homeland Security
that merged the INS with the US Customs Service, has notified the Fairfax
County Public Schools ("FCPS") that employee disclosure of Social
Security Numbers ("SSNs"), if any, is not required on INS Form
I-9, unless an employee chooses to certify her lawful eligibility to work in
the US using a Social Security Card. In a letter to the BCIS, FCPS
Superintendent Dr. Daniel A. Domenech acknowledges this BCIS clarification to
FCPS. Dr. Domenech also goes on to give the BCIS an "earful" of
criticism for issuing confusing instructions on the INS Form I-9 that leads
employers to believe that an SSN is required to work in the
6. Privacy Tips Every Citizen Should
Know and Teach Her Kids:
Vehicle Information Privacy: Your
car is one of your most useful, and perhaps expensive assets you own - protect
it. Never disclose your Vehicle Identification Number ("VIN") or
license plate number unless absolutely necessary, such as to your insurance
company. While you can't easily conceal your license plate in public, you can
protect the confidentiality of your dashboard VIN by covering it with a small
piece of black electricians tape (but never remove or deface a VIN - this is
unlawful in many or most jurisdictions). Be conservative about giving too much
information to car maintenance vendors - entering your license plate, VIN,
name, address, and phone number in their computers is just asking for trouble.
7. Fairfax County Privacy Friendly
Merchant: Jiffy Lube @ 6701
Backlick Road in Springfield has agreed to service cars without disclosure of a name,
address, or phone number. Manager Glenn Illig told the Privacy Council that he
will allow customers to opt out of this as long as they provide accurate car
specifications so that the maintenance can be performed to standard.
Presumably, they will still enter the license number of your car as an
administrative tracking number for future visits and free fluid "top
offs." Mention Mr. Illig's name regarding this opt out when you pull up
for service so that the employee is not confused on the issue - Thanks Mr.
Illig! Take Action: Refuse to do business
with privacy unfriendly merchants and tell them why...and tell the Privacy
Council too so we can set them straight!
-------------
Questions, or to be added/deleted from future Alerts? Contact Mike Stollenwerk
at majstoll@aol.com.
Sincerely,