The amount of information about you kept on computers is staggering: bank statements, credit card reports, medical records, school transcripts, job applications, driving history, videotape rentals, tax returns, legal records... the list goes on and on. And wherever there's information, The Privacy Poachers are trying to get their hands on it. The Privacy Poachers explains exactly who is collecting information about you and what they're doing with it. Government and private snoops can combine data from your financial transactions with information from surveillance, telephone taps, mail monitoring, and other privacy invasions to create a detailed dossier of your life. This information is then packaged and sold, over and over again, without your knowledge or permission.
The Privacy Poachers can have a devastating impact on your life. Many New Englanders found out the hard way when a national credit bureau falsely tagged them as deadbeats. An Arizona man found out when a police computer responded to his name with the warning, "High Risk: AIDS." Despite privacy laws, false or damaging information can be broadcast around the globe in the blink of an eye. Chapters include: *The Birth of Big Brother *Who Wants to Know About You -- and Why
*How Big Brother Collects Information *Who's Opening Your Mail? *IRS Cross-Matching Programs *Eye in the Sky *Modern Electronic Surveillance *Protecting Yourself *And more.