October 26, 2008 at 7:41 pm
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Data Trust
October 27, 2008 at 2:45 am
In the UK financial advisers are regulated by the Financial Services Authority and there are two types - those who charge the customer and are independant and those who don't charge the customer but get paid commission by the companies whose financial products they sell and they only offer a subset of all available products on the market. This latter includes the banks and building societies selling their own products. All however have to tell you how they are financed up front so you can decide. If they are making money from commission they won't be so inclined to sell data - apart from the limitations of the Data Protection Act.
There's quite a few financial advice sites now. My UK favourite is
which is a community as well as an advice site. I'm definitely an old-styler:D
October 27, 2008 at 2:49 am
Scary thoughts, but an excellent illustration of why it's illegal for many countries to transfer certain types of data to the US.
In the UK, we have the Data Protection Act, which puts certain legal obligations and limitations on how companies store, maintain and process "personal data". We're part of the European Economic Area (EEA), and all the member states have a reasonably similar approach to personal data, so we're allowed, within those legal limits, to move data around within those member states' borders. However, we're not allowed to move that data outside the EEA unless the destination has a similar level of legal protection, and the US is a shining example of a country that does not.
Basically, Europe assumes the personal data to be the "property" of the person to which it refers, not to the company holding it, and until the US thinks in a similar way, transferring data between the two is always going to be a legal nightmare, and, in my opinion, rightly so.
Semper in excretia, suus solum profundum variat
October 27, 2008 at 5:37 am
Hehe how do you think google makes their cash? They collect all info about you that they can, and then sell it, luckily, as far as I know, they do it for marketing only, but could be used for blackmail etc. There are lots of companies, mostly commercial that I know about, that pays a lot for this info about people. I avoid giving personal info away as much as I can, because I do not trust 99% of the websites that asks for it.
October 27, 2008 at 6:37 am
Besides intentional disclosures for profit, aren't these sites the equivalent of putting all your identity eggs in one basket? I would think most people's reservations (mine included) about giving these sites all this information would be based on how juicy a target this must be for identity thieves!
October 27, 2008 at 6:54 am
Good point you make Steve about companies possibly selling the data you trust them with when/if they go belly up. I see so many statements on websites about how your privacy is important to them, they take all precautions to protect it, blah blah. Yeah, they do, until they need to cash out and you're the first person they sell out. :rolleyes:
October 27, 2008 at 9:38 am
We're all to casual about giving up our personal information, especially when online. Whether revealing personal information on social websites or making a purchase on Amazon or Ebay.
You may be interested in reading this article from Forbes:
I've been consulting with banks for over 20 years and have encountered some very loose policies on data protection, even the very largest institutions that claim to safe-guard our personal data.
Personally, I maintain a account with a bank different than my primary for all my online purchases. The account has no more than $500 in it and I use it only when I need to make an online purchase. I use a debit card: That way I am exposed only to the balance of the account. Even though the bank guarantees to cover the fraudualant withdrawels, I am exposed only to this account.
The price for convenience!
October 27, 2008 at 10:28 am
Market forces apply to data thieves, too. The window during which credit cards and bank accounts are vulnerable is shrinking as more institutions get more and more proactive about protecting themselves (very little risk is passed on to consumers now).
Maintaining separation of liquid accounts and transaction accounts is important. Even though Mastercard and Visa are alleged to cover debit card transactions to the same level as credit cards, I'm still a bit leary of using them. I like having the insulation between my cash and the account numbers I expose on a regular basis for purchases. Love Dave Ramsey and the debt free mantra, but I'll just have to trust me to pay it off every month.
We've got all kinds of laws protecting consumers, and some of them are pretty good, but... the opt-out clauses in them really take the teeth out of them because they require action on the part of the sheeple.
October 27, 2008 at 10:33 am
I have a few separate accounts, though I don't worry about them too much. We monitor frequently and we're quick to shut down an account if we have issues.
Opting out is a pain, and we do it to try and prevent issues. You might wish that companies always opted you out and forced you to opt-in, but I'm not sure we'll ever see that.
October 27, 2008 at 11:22 am
Having worked for a company or two that buys and/or sells personal information, I have to admit it still gives me the shivers... I like the comment from the poster who mentioned something to the effect of the personal information belongs to person, not the company. I always try to dissuade companies from making money this way; it damages trust.
That having been said, I also believe that there are no secrets. The world still runs on trust, no matter how much security you lay over it. Security only attempts to keep the honest people honest. Those with enough skills and time will find a way to defraud, no matter how much security there is, because the weak link in the chain is the people themselves. People are born, grow up, make mistakes, some learn, some do not, and they die. More people are born. The cycle repeats itself. If we lived forever, the fraudulent would be exposed, and the trustable would deal only with those that are trustworthy, and we'd not likely have to even worry about finances any longer.
Such is life.
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