Prying Eyes: Protect Your Privacy From People Who Sell to You, Snoop on You, or Steal From You (Repost)

You leave an electronic trail every time you use a credit card, rent a DVD, mail in a rebate form, go to the doctor, open a bank account, or surf the Internet at home and at work.

News stories about identity theft, anti-terrorist legislation, cyber-stalking, marketing databases, and employer surveillance practices are evidence that your privacy is violated more and more every day. Using examples from real-life situations, Prying Eyes reveals how, often without your knowledge, people use your personal information to sell to you, snoop on you, and steal from you.

Eric Gertler reveals how to minimize your exposure in every facet of life–at home, at the office, on vacation, at the store, at the doctor’s office, online, and on your cell phone. Beyond reporting and speculation, Prying Eyes will empower you to take charge of your personal information before someone else does.

You will learn:
·How information about your bank account, credit, and purchases is tracked, stored, and accessed–and how to limit your exposure.
·How to protect yourself from identity theft–and how to recover if you’ve been a victim.
·Risks to your privacy at work–why it is important to separate your personal life from your business life.
·Threats to your medical files–who has access to them how they’re commonly mishandled, and how to prevent information from getting into the wrong hands.

From Publishers Weekly
Recently, the media and book authors have focused on the dangers to our privacy posed by the growing electronic network connecting all aspects of our lives, from medical records to online shopping. But Gertler offers more—practical ways to protect your privacy from invasion and your identity from theft (no small problem: according to Gertler, 10 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2003). In this amiable and readable handbook, Gertler, an expert on privacy and identity theft and former CEO of Privista, advises on how to prevent your Social Security number from being sold on the Internet; reduce access to your credit report; and check the security on a Web site when you make a purchase, among many other tips. And if you thought your workplace was safe, Gertler details how increasingly intrusive employers are becoming—and employers, an ACLU staffer points out, are "beyond the reach of the Constitution." Gertler offers lots of scary anecdotes illustrating how easily others can gain access to your personal information and abuse it, and little sidebars highlight important points. Some may find Gertler's approach too comprehensive—they may not need the constitutional history of the right to privacy. But for patient readers who want a grasp of the issues as well as practical tips, Gertler's guide to identity security is indispensable.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Introduction: Your Life

1 What Privacy Means to You
Do You Have a Constitutional Right to Privacy?
New Challenges to Your Privacy
September 11 and Your Privacy
Privacy and the Rest of the World
Where Do You Go from Here?

2 Your Personal Information and the Public Record
Information Contained in Public Records
Access to Public Records
Data Aggregators and Uncle Sam
The Privacy Act of 1974 and the Freedom of Information Act
Your Personal Documents
Official Certificates
Government-Related Documents
Property Holdings
Bankruptcies
Protecting Your Most Personal Documents
The Bottom Line

3 Your Identity
How to Reduce Your Chances of Being a Victim
The Law on Identity Theft
What to Do if You Are a Victim
Should You Buy Identity Theft Insurance?
The Virtues of Being Organized
Long-Term Consequences
The Bottom Line

4 Your Credit
Your Credit Report Is More Important Than You Think
What's in Your Credit Report?
How Credit Bureaus Get Your Personal Information
Order Your Report Now
What Laws Protect You?
Your Credit Score
Who Accesses Your Credit Report and Score
How to Reduce Access to Your Credit Report
Credit Scams
Credit Tips to Protect Your Privacy
How to Correct Errors on Your Report
The Bottom Line

5 Your Money
What Financial Institutions Know About You
Federal Protection for Your Financial Privacy
How to Use the Law to Protect Your Financial Privacy
Warning: Your Financial Records May Reveal Information About Your Health
When Stolen Information Becomes Stolen Money
Online Banking and Online Payment
Take Control of Your Financial Documents
The Bottom Line

6 Your Shopping
A Trade in Personal Information
How Companies Track You
Shopping Online
Privacy Policies
Paying for an Online Purchase
What the Law Says
Auctions
Protect Your Privacy When Shopping
The Bottom Line

7 Your Computer and the Internet
How Sites Track You
Surfing with Shades
Hackers and Virus Writers and the Programs They Create
What Else Is Out to Get You: Web Bugs, Spiders, Spyware, and More
Spam or Junk E-mail
Public Areas on the Internet
Antispam Legislation
E-mail and Instant Messaging
Protect Your Privacy Online
The Bottom Line

8 Your Home
Your Property
Privacy Issues in Your Home
Unsolicited or Junk Mail
The Bottom Line

9 Your Workplace
Pre-Employment
Online Career Sites
On the Job
Types of Surveillance at Your Workplace
Off-Duty Conduct
Protect Your Privacy in the Workplace
The Bottom Line

10 Your Health
The Contents of Your Medical Records
Other Sources of Your Medical Information
Your Protections Under HIPAA and Their Limits
The Medical Profilers
Access to Your Personal Medical Records
How to Request Your MIB Medical Records
Medical Privacy in Practice: Separating Fact from Fiction
Protect Your Medical Privacy
The Bottom Line

11 Your Everyday Life
Privacy and the Patriot Act
Carnivore
Airline Travel
Cell Phones
Your Image
Tracking Technologies
Your Leisure Time
College and University Education
Criminal Law Records
The Bottom Line

12 I Spy, You Spy
Using the Internet to Conduct Searches
Public Records
Locator Services
Spyware or Snoopware
Products You Can Buy
Special Situations
Hiring a Private Detective or Investigator
Stalking
Basic Sleuthing
The Bottom Line

13 The Future of Privacy

Notes
Resources
Index