-Caveat Lector- from: from alt.conspiracy ----- As always, Caveat Lector. Om K ----- <A HREF="aol://5863:126/alt.conspiracy:538375">Government Sifting Thru Your Bank Account </A> ----- Subject: Government Sifting Thru Your Bank Account From: B LeMaster <Use-Author-Address-Header@[127.1]> Date: Tue, 20 July 1999 05:20 AM EDT Message-id: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Los Angeles Times July 16, 1999 Many Banks Giving State Extensive Customer Data Privacy: Law demands records of 'deadbeat parents,' but small firms hand over information on all account holders. By EDMUND SANDERS, Times Staff Writer Scores of California banks, thrifts, credit unions and life insurers have begun turning over confidential information about their customers--including account balances and Social Security numbers--to state officials in an effort to comply with a new federal law designed to catch parents who fail to pay child support. The program, which took effect this spring, requires financial institutions nationwide to help locate so-called deadbeat parents by searching their customer databases every three months for matches against state-provided lists of child-support debtors. If matches are found, the names, account balances and other information must be given to state officials, who can then seize the assets. But in California, many small community banks and credit unions say they cannot afford the time or the technology necessary to check millions of customer records regularly, and unlike some other states, California is not helping financial institutions shoulder the costs. As a result, about half of the participating institutions are taking advantage of a provision that enables them to simply hand over the names and account balances of all their customers, forcing the state to look for matches itself. [...] "This is a further impingement on the confidential nature of those records," said Beth Givens, project director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse in San Diego. "The option of allowing a bank to provide its entire customer database to the state should never have been allowed." Though Givens said she is sympathetic to efforts to collect delinquent child support, she worries that the program will compromise the privacy of millions of Californians who have done nothing wrong. The program comes at a sensitive time in California, where many residents increasingly feel that their financial privacy is under attack. Last month, the state's employment department ditched plans to begin selling confidential salary data about 14 million Californians after it received a flood of complaints. Shortly thereafter, the state's largest banks admitted that they had been selling or disclosing sensitive information about their customers to telemarketing firms. "The government already has a Big Brother file on everyone," said Ann Kaufman, a bank customer in Rancho Palos Verdes. "They don't need to get any more information." [...] Tax board officials have steadfastly refused to identify which financial institutions are giving their full customer lists to the state. [...] The names of individuals who owe child support are provided by district attorneys, but the accuracy of that information has been called into question. A Times investigation last fall found that the Los Angeles County district attorney's office had seized bank accounts and pursued collections against men who were later determined not to be the fathers of the children in question. In one instance, a Carson man was imprisoned for 26 hours before it was discovered that he had the same name as a man sought for back child support. ----- Aloha, He'Ping, Om, Shalom, Salaam. Em Hotep, Peace Be, Omnia Bona Bonis, All My Relations. Adieu, Adios, Aloha. Amen. Roads End Kris DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
