Date: Mon, 27 Jun 94 06:53:46 EST
Errors-To: Comp-privacy Error Handler <owner-comp-privacy@uwm.edu>
From: Computer Privacy Digest Moderator <comp-privacy@uwm.edu>
To: Comp-privacy@uwm.edu
Subject: Computer Privacy Digest V4#082
Computer Privacy Digest Mon, 27 Jun 94 Volume 4 : Issue: 082
Today's Topics: Moderator: Leonard P. Levine
PRIVACY JOURNAL Promotion
Privacy Codes of Practice
Get Your Files & More
Re: Information Required by Employer
Re: License Plate Numbers
Re: SSNs, Drivers and Students in Kentucky
Re: Physical Location via Cell Phone
Re: Local Law Enforcement BBS
The Computer Privacy Digest is a forum for discussion on the effect
of technology on privacy. The digest is moderated and gatewayed into
the USENET newsgroup comp.society.privacy (Moderated). Submissions
should be sent to comp-privacy@uwm.edu and administrative requests
to comp-privacy-request@uwm.edu. Back issues are available via
anonymous ftp on ftp.cs.uwm.edu [129.89.9.18]. Login as "ftp"
with password "yourid@yoursite". The archives are in the directory
"pub/comp-privacy". Archives are also held at ftp.pica.army.mil
[129.139.160.133].
----------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Robert Ellis Smith <0005101719@mcimail.com>
Date: 24 Jun 94 15:34 EST
Subject: PRIVACY JOURNAL Promotion
Here are the headlines from the current issue of PRIVACY JOURNAL. If
you would like A FREE COPY of the newsletter, specify hardcopy or
electronic edition and write or call PRIVACY JOURNAL, PO Box 28577,
Providence RI 02908. 401/274- 7861, e-mail 0005101719@micmail.com.
IMPLANTING ID MICROCHIPS IN HUMANS NO LONGER FAR FETCHED
THE INFORMATION HIGHWAY ISN'T THE ONLY ONE WIRED
STATES OPPOSE FCC ON CALLER ID REGULATION
FBI ADDS TO DIGITAL TELEPHONY PROPOSAL
COMPROMISE FAIR CREDIT REPORTING BILL PASSES HOUSE
NY COURT TAKES WIDER VIEW OF COMPUTER CRIME LAW
------------------------------
From: Darren Osadchuk <OSADCHUK@UVVM.UVIC.CA>
Date: 24 Jun 94 18:17:03 PDT
Subject: Privacy Codes of Practice
Hi there. My name is Darren Osadchuk, and I'm the research assistant
for Prof. Colin J. Bennett here at the University of Victoria. I was
hoping that some of you out there would be able to pass along any
information that you might have on privacy codes of practice. Part of
the study being undertaken involves an analysis of the Canadian and
international experience(s) with the implementation of non-legislative
codes of practice as well as the oversight and compliance mechanisms
employed. Specific attention is being paid to the following sectors:
1. Banking.
2. Insurance.
3. Direct Marketing.
4. Telecommunications, specifically:
a. Telephone service;
b. Cable television service.
What would be of particular use would be information concerning the
existence of such codes, and how I could go about obtaining a copy of
them. If you know of any that have been posted and are available via
Gopher or anonymous FTP, or have an address that I could write to, and
could pass that info along to me, it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
------------------------------
From: glr@ripco.com (Glen Roberts)
Date: 25 Jun 1994 23:02:03 GMT
Subject: Get Your Files & More
Organization: RCI, Chicago, IL
Directory of Fax on Demand Documents. To receive any of these, call
(708) 356-9646 from your fax. Follow the prompts and press start when
asked to. You'll immediately receive the information. Please note,
document #'s in the 600s and 900s are strictly informative in nature.
Doc# Pages Description
---- ----- -----------
500 4 Superior Broadcasting Company Catalog
501 1 Full Disclosure Magazine
502 1 Market your product, service or idea here! (very affordable)
503 1 Market your product or service on Full Disclosure Live!
504 1 T-Shirt's With an Attitude!
505 1 No record -- No Trace -- No Caller-ID -- No ANI phone calling!
506 1 Attention: All Personal Computer Users!
600 1 Fill-in-the-Blank FBI file request form
601 1 Fill-in-the-Blank SSN protection form
602 2 Fill-in-the-Blank Medical Information Bureau Request form
610 2 Article on how to "Get Your Files"
611 3 A Mystery or Not -- What you don't know about 800#'s
612 6 "SECRET" FBI memos on Glen L. Roberts / Full Disclosure
900 1 First Amendment Documents Index (true believers ONLY!)
This service is provided by the Superior Broadcasting Company. Listen to Full
Disclosure Live on WWCR, 5,810 khz, Sunday's 7pm/central.
--
Glen L. Roberts, Publisher, Directory of Elect Surv Equip Suppliers
Host Full Disclosure Live (WWCR 5,810 khz - Sundays 7pm central)
Box 734, Antioch, Illinois 60002 Fax: (708) 838-0316
Voice/FAX on demand: (708) 356-9646
[MODERATOR: If some reader would like to report on the quality of this
offering, I am sure we would all appreciate seeing that report.]
------------------------------
From: hibbert@netcom.com (Chris Hibbert)
Date: 24 Jun 1994 20:33:33 GMT
Subject: Re: Information Required by Employer
Organization: NETCOM On-line Communication Services (408 261-4700 guest)
In the U.S. the SSN is to apply credits to your SS account so that
you can receive payments when you retire.
This isn't really true, though SSA tries to make you believe it without
ever explicitly saying so. The ammount you can get out is not limited
by the amount you put in.
If you don't want to collect their used to be provisions that you
didn't have to pay.
You aren't allowed to opt out of the system, by refusing to pay into
SSA. I don't believe that was ever an option for individuals. Various
groups, including congress and other government employees had the
choice, at one point, as a group, of being part of SSA or a private
pension scheme. No individual was ever allowed to opt out, and groups
don't get to make that choice again.
We also have alternate form of tracking income. an individual can
apply for a tax ID number (TIN) to use instead of a SSN. There is
no requirment to have a SSN to track income.
The IRS uses an individual's Social Security Number as the TIN. If you
are a US citizen, you have to get an SSN in order to file taxes.
Non-citizens who are allowed to work here can get an SSN so their
income can be reported, and so they can file taxes, too.
--
Chris Hibbert protecting privacy in the computer age is
hibbert@netcom.com like trying to change a tire on a moving car.
------------------------------
From: dcrawfo2@mason1.gmu.edu (Daniel C Crawford)
Date: 25 Jun 1994 01:09:12 GMT
Subject: Re: License Plate Numbers
Organization: George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Eugene Tyurin (gene@insti.physics.sunysb.edu) wrote: Can I find out
a person's phone or address if I know his license plate #? If that
matters -- I'm in NY state. Thanks a lot!
Sure, call the DMV and tell them that you saw someone with plate XYZ
drive off and they left something on the curb? <grin> No, actually,
there are procedures available which you can probably glance through at
the library by looking for books on begin a private eye. -- though I
kinda like my way.
------------------------------
From: resch@cpcug.digex.net (Gregory Resch)
Date: 25 Jun 1994 03:50:55 GMT
Subject: Re: SSNs, Drivers and Students in Kentucky
Organization: Capital PC User Group Rockville, MD USA
Lowell Gilbert (lowell@bu.edu) wrote: Is this in fact the case?
Can anyone confirm this statistically? Massachusetts, for one, has
recently stopped assigning SSNs as driver's license numbers. But
my experience is too limited to try to project in general.
After a woman complained a year or two ago, Maryland (Motor Vehicle
Administration) stopped insisting on getting SSANs on driver's- license
applications and renewals. Judging from the statements of the MVA head
as quoted in the news reports, however, I'm not convinced the practice
is dead forever.
------------------------------
From: es@crl.com (Eric Smith)
Date: 25 Jun 1994 00:00:41 -0700
Subject: Re: Physical Location via Cell Phone
Bernie Cosell <bernie@fantasyfarm.com> wrote: Again, this strikes
me as excessively alarmist. Even if such a fine-grained breakdown
becomes possible, it seems to me that it is easily thwarted simply
by not using a cellular phones. It is just another of the many
iterations of the same old tune: are you willing to trade a little
convenience for a little privacy. No "Risks", no "grand
conspiracies", no rhetorical "think about how bad the future will
be", just a simple "those who care about the tradeoff won't make
it, and those who don't care will". I see neither a risk nor a
privacy problem here... just SOP stuff...
Just like now if you ask to be paid in cash you might be suspected of
tax evasion or of being an illegal alien, sometime in the future if you
buy a new car and request that it not have a cellular phone in it, you
might be suspected of planning to use that car for a crime. Car phones
might even be made hard to turn off when it is found that people who
want to turn off their car phones tend to be criminals.
The same attitude now might still apply then: "If you don't have
anything to hide, why are you worried about it?"
There might even come a time when car phone tampering for the purpose
of obstructing possible criminal investigations will be made illegal,
such that if you tamper with your phone to allow you to turn it off,
you can go to jail even if you commit no other crime.
I can just see one cop saying to another, "That car just passed me at
58 MPH in a 55 zone and his car phone is dead. Call for backup, he
might be armed."
Even without a law against car phone tampering, it might still warn
cops that you might be a dangerous criminal trying to hide, causing
them to stop you for minor infractions they would otherwise ignore.
Even if only 95% of the population has car phones, the cops might still
be more inclined to stop the other 5% for that same reason.
They might even use the car phone itself as the excuse. "I saw you
drive by looking a little dazed, so I tried to call you to see if you
were ok, but your phone was dead. Oh, you don't have a phone? Sorry,
I didn't know that. Anyway, have a nice day, and I'm glad to find that
you don't have any contrabrand on board. Oh, don't worry about being
late, just tell your boss you were stopped by mistake."
------------------------------
From: khinedi@bu.edu (Kareem Hinedi)
Date: 26 Jun 1994 00:31:14 GMT
Subject: Re: Local Law Enforcement BBS
Organization: Boston University
Al Cohan (0004526627@mcimail.com) wrote: In today's Los Angeles
Times there was an article on how with West Valley Division of the
Los Angeles Police Department has set up a BBS.
Apparently this is a trial basis for citizens to contact the police
department to find out information of interest to the community. In
addition there was some mention of obtaining graphics and asking
questions in some sort of public forum.
I believe a police department (county level) in Marland has set up a
similiar system. They will include information off the daily log
(omitting juvinile names and part of the street adress). This was in
the Washington Post several weeks (months ?) back
-- Kareem A. Hinedi
Boston University School of Public Health
------------------------------
End of Computer Privacy Digest V4 #082
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