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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.

Friday, October 29, 2004

With privacy, customer actions lag behind their words

GlobeTechnology is reporting on a study recenly conducted on the privacy attitudes and privacy-protecting actions of US consumers. It is eye-opening, but most who work in this area know that consumers regularly talk about privacy fears, but rarely act with their privacy interests in mind.

Security, but only if it's convenient: "
U.S. consumers may express fear of identity theft, but they continue to offer too much personal information over the telephone and the Internet, a survey says.
Consumers continue to repeat the mistakes that resulted in nearly 10 million identity theft victims in the United States last year as reported by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
The 2004 Identity Management Survey, commissioned by Texas-based Electronic Data Systems Corp. and the International Association of Privacy Professionals, based in Maine, found that consumers are not taking enough security precautions to protect themselves despite repeated warnings of identity theft.
According to the survey, more than 70 per cent of consumers are too ready to share information such as their names, addresses, postal codes, phone numbers, account numbers or give the answer to a security question to an unsolicited call or e-mail...."
Labels: identity theft, information breaches