Fergie's Tech Blog

Private Eyes Fear Limits On Information Access

I say to them, "Tough."

Jonathan Kim writes on WashingtonPost.com:

Private investigators are working to blunt legislation that cracks down on the active marketplace for Social Security numbers, telling Congress that restricting access to the numbers will hurt their business and hamper their investigations.

Several bills are moving through the Capitol to prevent identity thieves from getting Social Security numbers to gain access to consumers' financial accounts. In the past year, the Social Security numbers of tens of millions of Americans have been exposed through personal data being lost, stolen or hacked.

But private investigators contend that the rush to protect privacy goes too far and would damage their ability to deliver valuable services, such as locating people who skip out on debts, commit fraud or want to avoid testifying in court.

posted by Fergie @ 6/14/2005 06:09:00 AM