Recess Monkey has been alerted to the website b4usearch.com which is telling anyone who wants it, information about YOU.
You may well have your name, address, the names of the people you live with and your telephone number displayed on it for all the world to see.
I suggest you go on to the site (click the ‘People’ tab) and have a look for yourself.
A police source suggests;
“I would advise that if your details can be accessed via this website, that you have them removed. To do this send an email to privacy@b4u.co.uk and your request should be removed within 21 days. If they are not removed within this time you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office by sending an email to compliance@ico.gsi.gov.uk”
UPDATE
Recess Monkey readers rightly suggest that giving these clowns your email address might not be a good idea. So just contact the information commissioner or write to your MP!
editor[at]recessmonkey.com
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But by emailing a complaint to that address, you automatically provide them your own email address. Which is not something I intend to do.So I have to go to the hassle of a one-off account to do it. Is there an easier method?
mike said this on August 10th, 2006 at 6:26 pm
I would agree. Sending a dodgy website like that your additional details to remove you from their database smacks of those spam emails that get sent round from ‘Amazon’ or ‘eBay’.
Shame on you Monkey for even suggesting people take part.
Eskimo Nell said this on August 11th, 2006 at 10:34 am
Anyone who doesn’t believe this is some kind of legalised scam may be interested in knowing there is another method: “FOR INSTANT REMOVAL FAX 0911 443 4433 (calls are charged at £1.50 per minute)”
Cllr Graham Smith said this on August 11th, 2006 at 11:00 am
My work involves tracing people, and there are many available websites, not just that one. Try 192.com. We also subscribe to various others and can get even more information. I know it would put off casual interest because you have to pay, but you still get name address and phone number for peanuts.
It’s a bit late to do anything about it now, though. The horse is well and truly out of the stable door, and when the National Identity Register is set up, that information will automtically be cross-referenced with the Electoral Role, subscrition data for utilities (where the websites you refer get their info from), credit checking databases (where the subscription websites I use at work get their info from) and everything else.
Dom said this on August 12th, 2006 at 6:33 pm
This is not a legalised scam. It is entirely illegal.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has ordered b4usearch.com to stop using information from electoral registers published before 2002, having found the site to be in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. See the ICO press release on 6/7/06: http://www.ico.gov.uk/cms/DocumentUploads/information_commissioner_finds_website_in_data_protection_breach_4_July_06.pdf
Since 2002 you have been able to prevent your details being provided to commercial organisations, by ticking the appropriate box on the electoral registration form. The ICO order refers to data collected prior to 2002, when voters were unable to choose what happened to their data.
If you believe that you have ticked the box preventing the sale of your details to commercial organisations, then b4usearch.com may be in contempt of court, which is punishable by imprisonment. You should complain to ICO.
If you aware of other sites that are illegally publishing data, complain about them too. You can make your complaint online at http://www.ico.gov.uk/eventual.aspx?id=16318
Andrew said this on August 13th, 2006 at 1:06 am
This is not a legalised scam. It is entirely illegal.
The Information Commissioner’s Office has ordered b4usearch.com to stop using information from electoral registers published before 2002, having found the site to be in breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. See the ICO press release on 6/7/06: http://www.ico.gov.uk/cms/DocumentUploads/information_commissioner_finds_website_in_data_protection_breach_4_July_06.pdf
The ICO press release makes it clear that complaints direct to b4u will be ignored.
Since 2002 you have been able to prevent your details being provided to commercial organisations, by ticking the appropriate box on the electoral registration form. The ICO order refers to data collected prior to 2002, when voters were unable to choose what happened to their data.
If you believe that you have ticked the box preventing the sale of your details to commercial organisations, then b4usearch.com may be in contempt of court, which is punishable by imprisonment. You should complain to ICO.
If you aware of other sites that are illegally publishing data, complain about them too. You can make your complaint online at http://www.ico.gov.uk/eventual.aspx?id=16318
Andrew said this on August 13th, 2006 at 9:55 am