P-TRAX (SSN's for $$$)
Chris Burian
In article <51k3f9$pg_...@TOASTER.CHC1>,
Craig Anglemier <Cang...@CableHealth.com> wrote:
>
> Your name, social security number, current address, previous
> addresses, mother's maiden name, birth date and other personal
> information are now available to anyone with a credit card through a
> new Lexis database called P-Trax. As I am sure you are aware, this
> information could be used to commit credit card fraud or otherwise=20
> allow someone else to use your identity.
>
> You can have your name and information removed from this list by
> making a telephone request. Call (800)543-6862, select option 4 and
> then option 3 ("all other questions") and tell the representative =20
> answering that you wish to remove your name from the P-trax database.=20
> to Lexis, the manager responsible is Bill Fister at extension 1364.
>
> I called this morning and had my name removed. The representative will
> need your name and social security number to remove you from the list.=20
> =20
Maybe this is a scam trying to collect social security numbers from
indignant netters wishing to remove their names from a non-existent
database.
Chris
Craig Anglemier
I checked this out, and it's real...
Hello all,
The following email was forwarded to me by a friend that works with
Arthur Anderson Consulting. He had it sent to him by an AA attorney. =20
It is apparently for real.
Your name, social security number, current address, previous
addresses, mother's maiden name, birth date and other personal
information are now available to anyone with a credit card through a
new Lexis database called P-Trax. As I am sure you are aware, this
information could be used to commit credit card fraud or otherwise=20
allow someone else to use your identity.
You can have your name and information removed from this list by
making a telephone request. Call (800)543-6862, select option 4 and
then option 3 ("all other questions") and tell the representative =20
answering that you wish to remove your name from the P-trax database.=20
You may
also send a fax to (513) 865-7360, or physical mail to LEXIS-NEXIS: =20
P.O. Box 933 / Dayton, Ohio 45401-0933. Sending physical mail to
confirm
your name has been removed is always a good idea.
As word of the existence of this database has spread on the net,
Lexis-Nexis has been inundated with calls, and has set up a special=20
set of operators to handle the volume. In addition, Andrew Bleh
(rhymes
with "Play") is a manager responsible for this product, and is the =20
person to whom complaints about the service could be directed. He can
be
reached at the above 800 number. Ask for extension 3385. According
to Lexis, the manager responsible is Bill Fister at extension 1364.
I called this morning and had my name removed. The representative will
need your name and social security number to remove you from the list.=20
=20
I suggest that we inundate these people with requests to remove our
info
from the list and forward this e-mail to everyone we know.
Susan E. Cole
In article <51k82r$j...@llnews.ll.mit.edu> cbu...@ll.mit.edu (Chris Burian) writes:
>Craig Anglemier <Cang...@CableHealth.com> wrote:
>>
>> Your name, social security number, current address, previous
>> addresses, mother's maiden name, birth date and other personal
>> information are now available to anyone with a credit card through a
>
>Maybe this is a scam trying to collect social security numbers from
>indignant netters wishing to remove their names from a non-existent
>database.
That was my first thought, too, but I just called them and it sounds
real -- either that or Lexis/Nexis has a phone fraud case on their hands.
By the time I called the 800 number, they had set up a special key to punch
if you weren't a customer and were calling about P-Trax, and then you get a
recording about how to get off the database. You have to FAX to a non-800
number to do it; what a ripoff.
But you don't need to provide your SS number or other info beyond your
name and address to get off the list.
CDavis1
A friend of mine sent me this. It all makes sense now. Amazing how
people overreact and assume the worst!
STATEMENT FROM LEXIS-NEXIS 9/18/96
Incorrect information is being distributed on Internet newsgroups
regarding the data displayed in LEXIS-NEXIS' P-TRAK file. P-TRAK is like
an electronic "white pages." The only information displayed is the name
of the individual, current address and up to two previous addresses and
telephone number. In some cases, the individual's maiden name may appear
and as well as the month and year of birth. That is the ONLY information
displayed in the P-TRAK file.
Contrary to some messages that have been posted to some Internet
discussion and news groups, the P-TRAK file DOES NOT contain any credit
histories, bank account information, personal financial data, mother's
maiden name or medical histories. This misinformation has been posted
over and over again to various news groups.
An example of a record appears below:
Name: DOE, JOHN E
Current Address: 1066 Anywhere Drive, Dayton, OH 95454
Previous Address: 106 Somewhere Drive, Dayton, OH 92454
Birthdate: 9/1965
Telephone Number: 555-1212
On File Since: 6/1/1994
The information displayed in the P-TRAK file is the type of information
readily available from public information sources such as telephone
directories (in print and CD-ROM format) and public records maintained by
government agencies.
LEXIS-NEXIS markets the P-TRAK file to the legal community for use by
general legal practitioners, litigators and public attorneys, as well as
law enforcement agencies and police departments. These professionals use
the P-TRAK file to assist in locating litigants, witnesses, shareholders,
debtors, heirs and beneficiaries.
LEXIS-NEXIS is aware of the sensitivities regarding the potential misuse
of information. Business competitors of LEXIS-NEXIS have for some time
made Social Security numbers available to users of their services. In
addition, Social Security Numbers and other information are available on
the Internet from a number of sources. Despite this wide availability of
Social Security numbers in the market place, LEXIS-NEXIS discontinued the
display of Social Security numbers in the P-TRAK file as of June 11, 1996,
eleven days after the product was introduced.
Through its actions, LEXIS-NEXIS is balancing the privacy concerns of the
public with the legitimate needs of legal, business and government
professionals for access to accurate sources of publicly available
information. By discontinuing the display of Social Security numbers in
P-TRAK and only providing information that is already available to the
public from other sources, LEXIS-NEXIS believes it has responsibly met the
expressed concerns of the public.
Individuals interested in having their names removed from the P-TRAK file
can e-mail their full name and complete address to:
p-t...@prod.lexis-nexis.com or mail this information to ATTN: P-TRAK, P.
O. Box 933, Dayton, OH 45401.
Mike Ingram
Regarding the LEXIS-NEXIS p-trax system
see the URL
http://www.lexis-nexis.com/lncc/p-trak/p-trak.html
evidently you CAN request that you be removed and it does NOT require
that you provide your SSN...
You might note when reading the url, that Lexis states that other
systems do provide
social security number and other information. I for one would like to
know
who these other systems are so that we can begin to bother them just as
appropriately as we have been doing Lexis all day.. ( their 800 number
is
QUITE busy as a result of these postings ) ( That is a hint LEXIS )
These central databases of information on American citizens without
their
prior knowledge or consent need to be stopped.
Anyone have any good ideas on how we go about suing these guys ?
Mike Ingram
>
Rick Aleshire
Craig Anglemier wrote:
>
>>SNIP<<
Your SSN IS NOT available nor is your mother's maiden name!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is available is your name, present and previous address, your maiden
name if you are a married woman, and your date of birth. There is a
complete article about P-TRAK in the Washington Post for today.
As an aside, I personally do not see why people are so up in arms! The
minimal information that is available through P-TRAK is readily available
through public sources! Each time you request telephone hookup, electric
and gas hookups, change of address, ad naseum - you are asked to provide
information to verify you are who you say you are! Now what do you
think happens to that information - it is stored in a database by that
organization and is readily available - THINK ABOUT IT!
Thomas Armstrong
In article <32436381...@netnews.worldnet.att.net>,
Radagast <Radagast@DELETE_THIS.worldnet.att.net> wrote:
>x-no-archive:yes
>
> On Fri, 20 Sep 1996 11:16:45 -0400, Rick Aleshire <Aleshi...@bah.com>
>wrote:
>
>>Craig Anglemier wrote:
>>As an aside, I personally do not see why people are so up in arms!
>>think happens to that information - it is stored in a database by that
>>organization and is readily available - THINK ABOUT IT!
>
>
>That's why everyone is discussing this matter.
>
>Much as I hate the idea of getting the government involved in yet another
>issue, maybe it's time to deal with invasions of privacy through
>legislation.
Yup, so much of the discussion about P-TRAK has been on "debunking" the
myths about it. Yet the debunkers miss many of the important points: So
P-TRAK no longer displays the SSN. You can still LOOK UP an individual via
SSN, i.e., someone can still enter a random SSN, find out to whom it belongs,
and proceed from there. With the one or two previous addresses in the
database, it's a good bet that one may be their parent's address; a couple
more address searches, and you've got the mother's maiden name. It doesn't
take a rocket scientist to figure this out. QED.
What the would-be debunkers miss is that P-TRAK has become synonymous with
the larger issue of automated invasion of privacy. The P-TRAK hysteria,
albeit slightly misguided, has succeeded in raising the awareness of privacy
invasion in the public mind. I hope that this awareness will lead to a
reduced tolerance of other, more invasive technologies: the proposed
"universal citizen ID card," "smart" cards with an individual's entire
medical and financial history, smart drivers license cards that contain an
individual's driving/accident record, other marketing databases available
online, etc.
DAVID CHESSLER
On 18 Sep 96, 06:06pm, CDAVIS1 wrote to ALL
on the subject of "P-TRAX (SSN's for $$$":
> A friend of mine sent me this. It all makes sense now. Amazing how
> people overreact and assume the worst!
Except for the statement about the mother's maiden name, it is as
bad as originally claimed.
> STATEMENT FROM LEXIS-NEXIS 9/18/96
> Incorrect information is being distributed on Internet newsgroups
> regarding the data displayed in LEXIS-NEXIS' P-TRAK file. P-TRAK is
> like an electronic "white pages." The only information displayed is
What is important goes beyond what is displayed, but includes
data contained and searchable in the database.
> the name of the individual, current address and up to two previous
> addresses and telephone number. In some cases, the individual's
> maiden name may appear and as well as the month and year of birth.
> That is the ONLY information displayed in the P-TRAK file.
> Name: DOE, JOHN E
> Current Address: 1066 Anywhere Drive, Dayton, OH 95454
> Previous Address: 106 Somewhere Drive, Dayton, OH 92454
> Birthdate: 9/1965
> Telephone Number: 555-1212
> On File Since: 6/1/1994
What about other information that is searchable, like the
SSNumber?
> LEXIS-NEXIS markets the P-TRAK file to the legal community for use by
> general legal practitioners, litigators and public attorneys, as well
> as law enforcement agencies and police departments. These
> professionals use the P-TRAK file to assist in locating litigants,
> witnesses, shareholders, debtors, heirs and beneficiaries.
Thre are no controls on its use. Anyone with access to the
account, which includes clerks, students in law libraries, and
others can access it. The account is not cheap, but it is not
incredibly expensive, and just about anyone can get an account,
including private detectives and others. The holder of the
account need not be licensed.
> LEXIS-NEXIS is aware of the sensitivities regarding the potential
> misuse of information. Business competitors of LEXIS-NEXIS have for
> some time made Social Security numbers available to users of their
> services. In addition, Social Security Numbers and other information
> are available on the Internet from a number of sources. Despite this
> wide availability of Social Security numbers in the market place,
> LEXIS-NEXIS discontinued the display of Social Security numbers in the
> P-TRAK file as of June 11, 1996, eleven days after the product was
> introduced.
The display is removed, but the SSNumber is still there. Enter a
random 9-digit number, and PTRAK will give full information as
shown above. Do it a few times and you will come up with a
suitable candidate for impersonation, if that's your wish.
By proper selection of the first 5 digits, you can make it likely
that the candidates you select are the right age and from the
right state for your purposes.
> information. By discontinuing the display of Social Security numbers
> in P-TRAK and only providing information that is already available to
But not the removal of the SS Number.
> the public from other sources, LEXIS-NEXIS believes it has responsibly
> met the expressed concerns of the public.
> Individuals interested in having their names removed from the P-TRAK
> file can e-mail their full name and complete address to:
> p-t...@prod.lexis-nexis.com or mail this information to ATTN: P-TRAK,
> P. O. Box 933, Dayton, OH 45401.
Excellent idea. Ask them who their competitors are, and get the
information removed there, too.
--
___ __ david.c...@mix.cpcug.org david.c...@neteast.com
d_)--/d ches...@capaccess.org ches...@trinitydc.edu
... E-mail: ->132 1:109/1111 david.c...@mix.cpcug.org
* Evaluation copy of Silver Xpress. Day # 1
* Silver Xpress V4.3
WellsA
Apparently you didn't check hard enough. It WAS real. During the first
nine days the P-Trak system was in operation, social security numbers were
available. Mothers maiden names or other financial information was never
included. The SSN's have since been removed from the system.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Aaron Wells (310) 281-8372
Post Office Box 3970 Wel...@aol.com
Long Beach, CA 90803-0970 10521...@compuserve.com
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Providing comprehensive business, legal and investigative
research and analysis. Promoting responsible information
disclosure through active participation in freedom of
information and privacy legislation. Member of the
American Society of Access Professionals.
-----------------------------------------------------------
Glen L. Roberts
Mike Ingram <ing...@aries.tucson.saic.com> wrote:
>Regarding the LEXIS-NEXIS p-trax system
>see the URL
>http://www.lexis-nexis.com/lncc/p-trak/p-trak.html
Same old stuff...
See: http://pages.ripco.com:8080/~glr/ssn.html
Good luck getting your SSN out of these people's hands!
>evidently you CAN request that you be removed and it does NOT require
>that you provide your SSN...
>You might note when reading the url, that Lexis states that other
>systems do provide
>social security number and other information. I for one would like to
>know
>who these other systems are so that we can begin to bother them just as
>appropriately as we have been doing Lexis all day.. ( their 800 number
>is
>QUITE busy as a result of these postings ) ( That is a hint LEXIS )
TRW, TransUnion, Equifax, the Congressional Record (for military
officers... but my previous postings and faxing personal info to
Gen. Moreman, seems to have changed that).
>These central databases of information on American citizens without
>their
>prior knowledge or consent need to be stopped.
>Anyone have any good ideas on how we go about suing these guys ?
>Mike Ingram
>>
The Stalker's Home Page -- What the hell? Are you listed? Netspy
http://pages.ripco.com:8080/~glr/stalk.html
The Best Place to Promote your Web Site:
http://pages.ripco.com:8080/~glr/mall