California—providing its residents the right to privacy in its state constitution—has historically led the nation in consumer privacy. Today, California could take the lead again by passing into law the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (AB 375), a bill that alters the state’s privacy landscape. This bill would bring a much-needed expansion of consumer privacy protections by giving us more control over how our personal information is used and shared.

Fraud alerts and security freezes are both important tools that can help you protect yourself from identity theft by preventing credit card, phone and loan accounts from being opened in your name. However, the differences between the two and what you have to do to use them can often be confusing.

 

Data brokers have long operated under the radar. They regularly compile information that can result in us paying higher prices, being denied service or becoming victims of discrimination. And while other types of data collectors/distributors such as credit reporting agencies are federally-regulated, data brokers—existing in a regulatory vacuum—are not. They have also been completely free of any state regulation as well… until now.

Full disclosure: a significant portion of our staff loves to play video games and considers ourselves gamers. We keep up-to-date on the latest and greatest in the ecosystems of PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and Steam while spending hours gaining trophies, achievements and high scores. That being said, it's more important than ever that we be aware of what kinds of devices and services we bring into our lives.

 

Recently, we’ve heard from folks concerned about the possibility of their employer being able to monitor their work-provided phone or laptop. The short answer is yes, your employer can monitor you through nearly any device they provide you (laptop, phone, etc.). While the law is still developing in this area (especially when an employee brings their own device to work), one way to protect your privacy is to be aware of whether or not your device is being monitored.

 

Over the last few months, you’ve probably been inundated with emails begging you to re-subscribe to a mailing list or letting you know about an updated privacy policy. Ever wonder why? It’s because the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is going into effect in the European Union (EU) and, as a result, companies around the world have had to re-approach how they handle personal data.

 

With last month’s passage of the Alabama Data Breach Notification Act of 2018 (SB 318), all 50 states will have laws requiring companies to notify individuals when their personal information is exposed as a result of a data breach. It has been 15 years since the first data breach notification law passed in California, and this milestone is worth celebrating as a strong statement from the people of the United States that we care about our privacy.

Dear friends and colleagues,

 

In September 2017, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse celebrated a significant milestone: 25 years of engaging, educating and empowering individuals to protect their privacy. This would not have been possible without the dedication of our founder and Executive Director, Beth Givens. Beth’s vision to create comprehensive consumer education resourc

es coupled with her tireless drive in the fight for strong privacy protections has been an inspiration to individuals both within the organization and nationwide.

Currently, all Medicare cards have your Social Security number printed on them. So if you lose your Medicare card, your Social Security number may be compromised: possibly leading to identity theft.

 

Beginning in this month, Medicare will start mailing out new cards with randomly-generated Medicare Beneficiary Identifier numbers instead of your Social Security number. These cards will be mailed out to the address you have on file with the Social Security Administration in phases by geographic location.

 

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