Wells Fargo's little secret
IN JULY 2004, California will have the nation's strongest financial privacy law, though it is weaker than it should be because of the efforts in Sacramento and Washington by industry powerhouses such as Wells Fargo.
Until then, the protection of confidential personal information largely relies on the judgment and integrity of the financial institutions themselves. The current federal law provides consumers minimal opportunities to stop banks from sharing your personal financial data with third parties.
Wells Fargo found itself with an embarrassing security breach when a computer containing the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of thousands of its customers was recently stolen from the desk of a consultant who was working out of a small office behind a Concord sports bar. The bank sent a letter about the theft to the affected customers, as reported in a Nov. 21 column by David Lazarus.
The computer was recovered this week -- and the suspect claims to be unaware of the bounty of potentially lucrative personal data he had in his possession -- but a gnawing question remains: What, exactly, was this "consultant" doing for Wells Fargo with all this sensitive customer information?
Wells Fargo would not say. A spokesman merely disclosed that the analyst was performing unspecified "services for Wells Fargo" in accordance with federal law and the company's stated privacy policy. The spokesman insisted the information "was in no way involved in the marketing of products or services of any third party."
In other words, "trust us."
The physical security surrounding the handling of this information was obviously inadequate. Wells Fargo's customers have a right to know why this information was in a third-party's hands in the first place.
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