Originally published February 26 2006
Businesses have a responsibility to protect their customers from ID theft
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Businesses hold the personal information of millions of consumers but do not take measures to protect that information, reports an Ontario newspaper.
Ontario's information and privacy commissioner has a message for Ontario businesses: Start shredding, start encrypting and start taking more responsibility for identity theft.
"Maybe this isn't a big enough cost to business, but it sure is for consumers," Ann Cavoukian says.
Identity theft is all too often a cost externalized by businesses, leaving the victims to clean up the messes that were created through no fault of their own.
Businesses need to take more responsibility for identity theft, because it is all too often a result of sloppy information management, says Cavoukian, whose office released a report earlier this fall titled Identity Theft Revisited: Security is Not Enough.
PhoneBusters, which collects information on identity theft in Canada, says there were more than 9,000 reported victims of identity theft, totalling $7.2 million in losses from January to October.
"Enough of 'consumers can protect themselves,' " Cavoukian says.
Unlike British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec, Ontario has no legislation covering the private sector to deal with the problem.
And none of the four provinces have "breach-notification legislation" that requires people to be told when personal information is leaked or stolen from a private business.
While victims of identity theft go through enormous hassles to clear up their credit records and reputations, many are surprised to learn they don't have to pay back the money.
A group of consumer organizations that came together under the name of the Canadian Consumer Initiative (CCI) earlier this year also is calling on the government to enact legislation to protect consumers.
Cavoukian doesn't disagree that dumpster diving may be a major source of identity theft, but says if businesses weren't throwing files with personally identifiable information into dumpsters, it wouldn't be a problem.
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