Lexis Nexis - The bottomless pit of user data

(Image used under: Creative Commons 3.0 [SRC][Mod])

LexisNexis (which acquired ChoicePoint) is the largest data-broker in the world. They create vast profiles on people and use that information to create various reports that they sell to companies of all kinds. These reports are used to make decisions about renting, insurance and more. In the past these reports have been purchased by law enforcement and criminal organizations; all to find out more information about you.

It might be a good idea to find out what's in your report, but it turns out neither simple web searching or LexisNexis themselves do much for listing out all the types of data they know about you. Well here's the list of information they had (or could have had) from my personal LexisNexis dossier:

Does that make you uncomfortable?

Data brokers are just a business like any other, but as the credit report companies proved, buying and reselling data carelessly leads to disaster. Considering that these reports are FAR more detailed with a much wider variety of information, I can only imagine the consequences of allowing them to proceed as they have been.

Fortunately, you may not have to.

I was able to order my report using this webpage. I believe that doing so would be a good idea, but after that, make sure to also use their opt out procedures if you can.

It turns out that they'll only let your data go if you can prove that you're an identity theft victim or in imminent danger of bodily harm (police officer, public officials, etc). But it's easy to understand why they make it hard. After all, why would you set free one of your prize milk cows for no good reason?

In the end, I hope that strong regulation is introduced before we reach a problem like we did with identity theft.

Lexis Nexis - The bottomless pit of user data

(Image used under: Creative Commons 3.0 [SRC][Mod])

LexisNexis and ChoicePoint are two of the largest data-brokers in the world. They’re only product is information about you which they buy and sell with little to no regulation of any kind. I have always wondered what kind of information they keep about us, and now I know. In the profile I ordered from them, I found not only several pieces of my personal information, but descriptions of other kinds of information that they collect. Here is a summary:

Information they Had

• Full first, middle, and last name
• Wife first, middle, and last name
• Address history with dates and locations
• Social Security Number
• Full date of birth
• Driver’s License Number
• Vehicle VIN
• Insurance history including companies, policy details, dates of coverage, accidents, claims filed, etc.

Information they Collect, but Didn’t Have For Me

• Auto and property insurance history
• Pre-employment background report including “personal credit information” and state driving record.
• An Esteem® report which lists admitted or convicted cases of theft while visiting or working at a retail company (used by retailers for hiring).
• A ScreenNow® report which displays a ChoicePoint national criminal records search of your name and personal information (used for hiring and volunteer work).
• A Resident Data® history that includes personal credit information and a criminal record search (used for rental applications).
• A Resident Data® eviction report used for resident screening.
• FAA Aircraft Registrations
• Uniform Commercial Code filings (when securing a loan with collateral).
• Bankruptcies, Liens, and Judgments
• Professional Licenses
• Pilot Licenses
• Marine Radio Licenses
• Controlled Substance Licenses (for physicians, dentists, pharmacies).
• Firearms and Explosives Licenses
• Business Affiliations (for officers or principals of an incorporated Company).
• Significant Shareholders Search Results – If your name and address appear at the top of a corporation record.

And the most exciting part of all of this is that you never asked to be part of their profiles, they just take it. Neat huh?

Companies just can't seem to mind their own business

(Image is in the Public Domain)

This is a damn funny article explaining who is the worst of the worst and why:

America Online

America Online's privacy intrusion efforts are so aggressive and offensive, that the only explanation seems to be that AOL thought its clientele was so naïve they would never catch on to the company's privacy invasions.

Amazon.com

Amazon.com is currently among the world leaders in distributing information about its users to advertisers, and if they continue this practice the recent advancements in data mining by Amazon threaten to make shopping online with any form of anonymity a thing of the past.

Microsoft

Perhaps the most insidious method of privacy invasion Microsoft employs is the “Windows Live ID ? (formerly Microsoft .NET Passport). The Windows Live ID collects data from the majority of Microsoft networks including MSN, Hotmail, and Xbox Live, and stores them in a central database.

Most of the others were data-brokering companies like ChoicePoint and Acxiom which have already been in the news for the way they treat consumer information. Some that I didn't expect, but am not surprised about are Yahoo and Google.