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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Saturday, September 25, 2004

SINs not needed to get a credit rating check

Today's Toronto Star has an article about social insurance numbers and credit reports: "TheStar.com - SINs not needed to get a credit rating check". It is a followup to a previous article about a promotion to get your credit report online, free. The service required the customer to enter their SIN and includes some discussion about privacy and SINs.

Anybody who is interested in the use of social insurance numbers and Canadian privacy law may also want to read the following articles that touch on the topic:

Focus on Privacy: New Privacy Law Places Limits on SIN
PIPEDA and Credit Grantors (pdf of a powerpoint presentation)

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner also has a brand new "fact sheet" on the social insurance numbers: "Best Practices for the Use of Social Insurance Numbers in the Private Sector."

Labels: information breaches, privacy

9/25/2004 05:08:00 AM :: (2 comments) :: Backlinks

Comments:

So you can get your rating just with your name?

# posted by

credit rating : January 02, 2008 11:13 AM

Just a name isn't enough, because the purpose of the SIN was to make sure the credit grantor is getting the right credit file. Since there are a number of duplicates if you were to use the name only, that woudln't be sufficient. I understand that name, address, date of birth are likely sufficient to get a credit check without the use of the SIN.

# posted by