July 2001 Press Release

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Press Release
For Immediate Release  Contact: Martha Trombley
802-828-2148
July 2001

Markowitz Warns Vermonters to Check The Mail...Your Privacy Depends On It.

Over the past few weeks Vermonters have been receiving privacy policy notices in the mail from banks, securities firms and insurance companies. Secretary of State Deb Markowitz is warning Vermonters to look at these privacy policies carefully because of a new law that allows financial companies and insurance companies to begin to share and trade personal financial information about their customers, unless the customer has said "no". This information would be used to enable others to market products or services based on the individual's personal financial profile.

Markowitz said "most people I have spoken with remember getting privacy notices in the mail - but threw them out, thinking they were junk mail. Reading the fine print and calling an 800 number may take some time, but if you want to keep your personal financial information private it is time well spent." Vermonters are not alone. Statistics show that so far less than 1% of all people have responded to their privacy notices by asking for their personal information to be kept private.

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, passed by Congress, requires companies to develop a privacy policy and notify all their customers by July 1, 2001, and inform them that the company holds their personal financial profile. Consumers can "opt-out" of having this information shared, but it takes consumers to tell the company "no". Markowitz said, "the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act turns privacy on its head - instead of assuming that our personal information is private unless we give specific permission for its disclosure, this law requires us to read the fine print and say no if we don't want our information shared."

According to Markowitz, Vermont is still ahead of the pack with protecting our privacy. "Unlike most states Vermont enacted its own privacy law in 1994 that prohibits banks from sharing personal information without getting permission from the customer," said Markowitz, "and the department of Banking and Insurance is working on rules that would place similar opt-in requirements on securities firms and insurance companies."

Markowitz warns Vermonters, until the Vermont rules are in place "doing nothing when you get these notices may mean that you have given companies permission to share, sell or market your personal information." Information that can be shared can include personal income, credit card spending habits, social security numbers, account balances and more. In addition, it is important to know that even if a person requests that their personal information not be shared, the new federal law will still allow affiliated companies (insurance companies, credit card providers, securities firms and banks who have a legal association) to share information. This information enables the companies to cross-market services and products.

If a privacy notice does not offer the opportunity to "opt-out" it may be because that company does not share your information and does not plan to in the future. However, for those Vermonters that may have already thrown the privacy policy away, a new policy can be obtained by contacting the company.

Markowitz said, "In today's high-tech world, our personal privacy is of great importance. The opportunity to protect it should not be thrown away!"

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