Ted L Moss, Security Expert

Say Goodbye To Common Sense in the USA

In response to the editorial entitled “Say goodbye to privacy in the USA” written by Joe Yachanin, which appeared in November 29^th issue of the Brunswick Sun News, I would like to provide some invaluable insights into Mr. Yachanin’s topic, and hopefully allow your readers to see an entirely different point of view.

Mr. Yachanin expresses the opinion that “our country was founded on principles of freedom and liberty, and law–abiding citizens should be able to choose to be anonymous in as many aspects of their lives as they see fit.”

While some may argue that the constitution may or may not guarantee privacy specifically, it certainly does not do so, and should not be assumed to provide blanket anonymity. Here is the real dilemma: On one hand, I certainly would like to know if my neighbor is a child molester or a convicted felon. On the other hand, if I have a criminal conviction on my record, I don’t want anyone to know about it. You can not have it both ways.

As the President of Crimcheck.com, a pre-employment screening firm, and also as a citizen, I am deeply troubled by proposed legislation which may limit access to criminal record data. Ostensibly this move is intended to protect the public from identity theft. Not only will such laws not protect the public, it will place them in grave danger. In our business, we access these records on behalf of employers who want to make sure that they are not hiring a child molester as a bus driver, a multiple DUI offender to drive public transportation, or a thief to come into your home in a service capacity. Keeping in mind that your workplace may perform these same checks to protect you, take the following points into consideration:

• Public criminal records are used to help businesses mitigate risk from the 100 Billion dollar a year employee theft problem which results in 1/3 of U.S. companies going out of business.
• Public record checks also help reduce losses from negligent hiring and workplace violence which costs Americans another 50 Billion dollars a year. Public records reduce the cost to businesses from workplace drug abuse which is another 50 Billion dollar drain on our economy.
• The open access to public record information with the identifiers intact (name, address, date of birth) is crucial to public safety by providing a safe work and business environment.

Today, “Identity Theft” is a media buzzword. It seems that privacy issues and especially the availability of public records, are in the news on a daily basis. While identity theft is a concern, only a small percentage of such crimes are committed using public records information. In fact, over 25% of identity theft occurs through “dumpster diving” or sifting through trash. Another 30% occurs at the consumer’s home or place of residence by co-workers or family.  30% occurs at the point of transaction or sale. The remainder is from telemarketing fraud, mail fraud and a number of other scams perpetrated by identity thieves. In fact there is no specific data to indicate that public records is are source for identity thieves at all!

So when you apply for a credit card, read the small print. Realize that you are giving them the authority to sell your information about your buying habits, address and phone data, and perhaps your social security information. When you sign up for your driver’s license, which is a privilege and not a right, there is implied consent that they can share that information with insurance companies and insurance companies can in turn share that information with others. Be aware of what information you give out, and understand that as the times change and the information superhighway in some way infringes on your privacy, freedom of information and thought are what ultimately keep us free and safe.