Edupage, 24 September 1996 (fwd)

[James Love <love@tap.org>]

  story from Edupage on FTC and P-TRAK flap.  
  
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  Edupage, 24 September 1996.  Edupage, a summary of news about information
  technology, is provided three times a week as a service by Educom,
  a Washington, D.C.-based consortium of leading colleges and universities 
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  TOP STORIES
          FTC Seeks Privacy Safeguards In Response To P-TRAK Flap
  
  FTC SEEKS PRIVACY SAFEGUARDS IN RESPONSE TO P-TRAK FLAP
  The Federal Trade Commission has recommended broader privacy protections,
  responding to public outcry over an information service offered by
  Lexis-Nexis Inc. that critics say provides individuals' Social Security
  numbers, mothers' maiden names, and other confidential data to anyone
  willing to pay a nominal fee.  "The ready availability of this information
  through a tracking service may facilitate identity fraud, credit fraud and
  other illegal activities," says the FTC.  The P-TRAK service says it
  eliminated access to Social Security numbers earlier this year following
  consumer complaints, but users can still call up information by typing in a
  Social Security number.  P-TRAK also says it doesn't provide mothers' maiden
  names (often used by credit card companies as a safeguard against
  unauthorized access), just individuals' maiden names, as part of its
  service.  The FTC has recommended that credit-reporting agencies would no
  longer be able to supply this information to database operators such as
  Lexis.  (Wall Street Journal 24 Sep 96 B7)
  
  
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