Sharing is not Always Caring

June 23, 2010 - PRLog -- There is a misleading connection between the public’s need to share information on social media, yet they strive for privacy in all other areas, leaving questionable doubt over the public’s thoughts on security issues.

More than 70% of British households claim to have been a victim of a phone scam.  Year on year, identity fraud has risen exponentially, with the average financial loss in 2009 reported by Experian at £1,100.  Victims are taking longer to realise financial losses, which means that fraudsters are improving their tactics.  The average time taken to discover the loss is 416 days, up 17 days from 2008.

Fraudsters are altering their profiling habits.  Where the affluent population was previously targeted, the 18 – 34 age groups now account for a third of ID theft victims.  The target is now directed at those less cautious about data protection.

Facebook, in particular has recently been under scrutiny for its extreme lack of privacy for user’s data protection.   As the legislation currently stands, any data shared on Facebook is not considered private.  So many people are becoming negligent to the value of their data that some even share their telephone numbers and addresses with the unknown.  

Facebook has been labelled as ‘the next generation of leads’. Users’ information is consistently being used for potential sales within call centre environments, rather than paying data houses for their lists.

Facebook has appointed Tim Muris to deal with the websites privacy and security issues.  Ironically, Muris was the creator of America’s ‘Do-not-call’ registry, which is similar to the Call Prevention Registry in the UK.  Perhaps this will change the face of Facebook and its controversial privacy rights to become more like the policies of the Call Prevention Registry.

Direct marketing companies are taking advantage of consumer’s privacy negligence, as are organised crime groups.  Unsolicited phone calls are the main shape of identity fraud due to the displacement of trust when speaking on the phone.  If a person sounds professional enough, consumers can be subjected to believe almost anything.  

Call Prevention Registry eliminates unwanted sales calls and attempts to abolish fraudulent attempts with an investigative follow up for any discrepancies that customers may have with a company, or indeed a potential fraudster. Attaining as much information as possible from the caller and reporting them is the best way to combat such fraud.

“Putting your information on the Internet can be dangerous.  Our customers should think twice before doing so.  We strongly urge people to join our register so we can eradicate nuisance calls that may lead to fraudulent attempts” says Kathryn Powell of the Call Prevention Registry.

Call Prevention Registry insists the urgency of registering your telephone number with them as vital in protecting yourself against unwanted calls that could potentially lead to identity theft.  This alone isn’t enough to combat identity theft, the public must be aware that they cannot expect to share such revealing personal information without a repercussion.

The Call Prevention Registry regularly and actively communicates with companies who use data. Their independence allows them to provide an individual service.  Complaints procedures are carried out until full compliance results are achieved.

As technology is advancing, it seems that criminals are always a step ahead of us.  Society needs to take measures to protect themselves from such harassment.   Since social networking has arrived on the scene, marketing companies have learnt to exploit the medium.  Due to the free nature of the websites, collecting data has become too easy.  With the public’s data so readily available, companies are using it to find potential customer bases with unlimited access to their lives.
Customers can register their details with Call Prevention Registry by calling freephone 0800 652 7780 or by visiting www.callpreventionregistry.com. E-mail is available at info@callpreventionregistry.com.    Customers can be assured a top level of privacy with a fast and friendly call back service.

ENDS
Media Contacts:
For further information or an interview, please contact Miss. Kathryn Powell, Head of PR for CPR Global.
Telephone:    (01792) 454180
Mobile:       07792221267
Email:      k.powell@callpreventionregistry.com
Post:      CPR Global, York Chambers, Swansea, Wales, SA1 3LZ.

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Ensuring your telephone number is no longer available to organisations, including charities & voluntary organisations. By registering your telephone number with us, companies who telephone you with offers and sales calls will no longer be able to do so.