Mael

i got an e-mail today from a friend, a forward, and i think it screams of a hoax, but haven't been able to find anything about it on snopes.com. any of you know if this is true or not?

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Subject: OPT out of sharing PERSONAL INFO

Just to remind you that personal information goes public starting July
1, 2003. The four major credit bureaus in the US (Equifax, etc.) will be
allowed to release credit info, mailing addresses, phone numbers, etc.,
to ANYONE who requests it.

If you do not want to be included in this release of your personal
information, you can call 1-888-567-8688.

Once the message starts you will want Option #2 (even though Option #1
refers to this email, push #2) and then follow the prompts.

Be sure to listen closely, the first option is only for a two-year
period. Make sure you wait until they prompt for the third option, which
opts you out forever.

You should receive their paperwork in the mail confirming the "opting
out" in less than one week after making the call.

PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO ALL IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
--------------------

rogue49

spam, don't believe it.
legit companies don't send spam.
legally, if it was true you would have received a snail mail letter.

I'll make you a serious bet, it's a scam.
The feds have been getting more & more of these type of "services" offering help for money,
when the govt. agency offers it for free.

Cynthetiq

I recall it from over a year ago that this was being implemented. Call it and listen to it. It states exactly what you need to do. It's real, but not in the manner stated by this email.

Privacy is an important aspect of the world we now live in.

Good luck.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

The_Dude

i go w/ what rogue said, i dont think a legit company would ask u to forward stuff to get the info around

__________________
"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." - Darrel K Royal

JStrider

its on snopes.com now

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/pending/credit.htm

__________________
-=JStrider=-

~Clatto Verata Nicto

juanvaldes

Something like this IS going in in CA but it's only for phone spam.

Cynthetiq

Thanks JStrider...i did not have the time initially to do the searching but this is what I do remember from 2001 regarding this issue. For the click lazy...

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/pending/credit.htm

There is truth here in the issue which seems to be uppermost in the minds of most of those who receive this message -- that is, whether the phone number provided above is valid for the stated purpose or whether it's some sort of information-collecting scam. The phone number listed (1-888-5OPTOUT) is indeed legitimate; it is a shared number set up with the cooperation of the Associated Credit Bureaus to establish a single point of contact for consumers to call to request that all four major U.S. credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, Trans Union, and Novus/Innovis) remove their information from the marketing lists and pre-approved credit offer lists sold to third parties. Yes, they automated system will ask you to enter your phone number, Social Security number, and other personal information, because it needs that information to locate your record. If you are uncomfortable supplying this information to an automated system, you will have to call each of the four major credit bureaus individually and speak to real people at each one of them, a cumbersone and time-consuming process.

However, it is not true that consumers must call this number before 1 July 2003, nor is it true that recent legislation allows credit bureaus to share private information with "anyone who requests it." This misinformation has been circulating since 2001, and the same message keeps getting get dusted off and sent around every year with an updated deadline. (In fact, if you call the number listed above, the first option you're presented is to listen to a message explaining why the e-mail quoted above is false.)

Contrary to the text of the dire warning quoted above, credit bureaus cannot sell your non-public personal information (e.g., Social Security number, employment history, bank account information) to "anyone who requests it." Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1997, businesses seeking to obtain personal information from credit bureaus must have a "permissible purpose" in order to access credit reports. (Permissible purposes include checking the backgrounds of persons to determine their creditworthiness before selling or renting property to them, extending them loans or credit, or considering them for employment.) This restriction remains in force, it did not change on 1 July 2001, and it still applies whether or not you call the number listed above.

Credit bureaus can, however, create lists containing the names, addresses, and phone numbers of consumers with good credit and sell them to telemarketers and direct-mail marketers. (Names, addresses, and phone numbers are not considered "non-public personal information" because they may be obtained from a variety of publicly-accessible sources, such as phone directories.) Consumers may call the 1-888-5OPTOUT number to request that all four major credit bureaus not include their information on these marketing lists. There is no deadline for this process -- consumers may call the number at any time.

What did change back in 2001 was that due to the implementation of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (also known as the Financial Services Modernization Act) the banking, insurance, and securities industries were allowed to operate under the same corporate affiliation. (This act set aside legislation passed during the Depression era, which had created legal barriers to prevent mergers between banks, insurance companies, brokerage firms, and other financial institutions.) Because of consumers' concerns that new financial conglomerates allowed under this legislation might pool their resources to compile huge databases of sensitive customer information and share them with third parties, Congress added a provision to the act requiring that all financial service companies send privacy notices providing a "reasonable opportunity" for their customers to opt out of this information-sharing by 1 July 2001. (These notices had to provide consumers with details about all the kinds of information the companies collected about them and how they used that information.) The 1 July 2001 deadline applied only to the sending of notification to customers by financial institutions, and it had nothing to do with credit bureaus. Some key points of this "opt-out" process are:


Unlike credit bureaus, financial institutions can share your private information with third parties by default. In order to stop this sharing, you must specifically invoke your "opt-out" privileges to request that they not do it.

Privacy notices had to be sent to customers by 1 July 2001, but there is no deadline by which customers must respond. Your right to "opt out" of the information-sharing process is ongoing and may be invoked at any time.

Most importantly, you must contact every financial institution with which you do business to completely "opt out" of the information-sharing process. The phone number given in the message quoted above (1-888-5OPTOUT) applies only to credit bureaus. Calling this number will not affect the ability of any banks, insurance companies, credit card companies, brokerage firms, or any other financial institutions with which you do (or have done) business from sharing your information.
The bottom line is that laws regarding the selling of personal information by financial institutions have become more stringent recently, not less. The changes may not have made the laws as stringent as we'd like them to be, but at least they're a step in the right direction, not the scare stories these messages make them out to be.

__________________
I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

cdwonderful

hoax

__________________
Never try to teach a pig to whistle
it wastes your time,
and annoys the pig.....

RAMONES!!!

spam....i have hotmail and it seems that spam is going up since they have talked about getting rid of it

__________________
Come on

eyeseepeedude

hoax (*just had to say it... sorry*)

__________________
If you like what you see, donate to the TFP

Mael

thanks guys, when i looked on snopes, i must've glanced over it. i figured it was a hoax, nice to have it confirmed.

LittleOralAnnie

Companies such as this and all credit card companies are not allowed to give out any kind of personal information about you, unless permission is first granted by the individual. I'm betting on hoax and now that it was found on snopes, I'm assured even more.

YourNeverThere

even if they could give your info away, they wouls sell it to companys who mass market by mailing to your demographic

__________________
The Above post is a direct quote from Shakespeare

eyeronic

God snopes rules! snopes.com people!

__________________
I hold with those that favor fire.

BBtB

snopes knows all.

__________________
Meridae'n once played "death" at a game of chess that lasted for over two years. He finally beat death in a best 34 out of 67 match. At that time he could ask for any one thing and he could wish for the hope of all mankind... he looked death right in the eye and said ...

"I would like about three fiddy"

Ashton

MacGnG

THIS IS REAL:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcam...all/index.html


That i doubt is anything but real, just to get you to release your info so they can sell it

cliv

There's an easy way to tell it's a hoax. The message says:PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO ALL IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK, FAMILY AND FRIENDS. That's what almost all hoaxes say and it's the criteria I use when I can't find it at snopes.com or other hoax sites.