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This article focuses on the unfair and deceptive nature of so-called "privacy policies" that are heralded by financial institutions as being some sort of a protective (of your interests) disclosure when, in reality, they are serving as notices as to precisely how your personal information is going to be abused - and by whom!

In fact, if you read a typical privacy policy, you'll find that your personal information can be disclosed to just about anyone with whom your institution claims to have a business relationship. Of course, this is to "help serve you!" Here are two privacy policies. The first is First USA (Cardmember Services) and the second is Chase Bank:

http://www.cardmemberservices.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/cms/shared/page/privacy_policy

http://www.chase.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/privacy_security/protection/page/privacy_policy

The statements in these examples are typical of the language you'll find in a host of other financial transaction areas: insurance, investment accounts, checking and savings accounts, brokerage accounts, and many more.

When interpreted in the context of the applicable agreement that governs a particular transaction, the abuse can get even worse. For example, below is the specific agreement that corresponds to the privacy policy by First USA shown above.

http://www.cardmemberservices.com/ccp/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/cms/shared/page/legal_agreements

Also, be aware that it is the U.S. Congress that has failed the consumer and "stacked the deck" in favor of creditors. They have allowed the wholesale abuse of consumer information to be an integral part of the functioning of the financial marketplace in America. One ugly by-product of this deceptive sharing of your personal information among creditors is the ease with which predatory creditors can attack or attach assets in the event of a default which, absent the information sharing, might not be know by the predator to even exist (such as a new savings account).

If you want to find out just how private your personal financial information really is, try walking into a bank with a few bucks to open a savings account - and tell them you want your information kept private from the moment you open the account with their explicit agreement to NOT disclose your personal information to anyone without your permission. They will simply tell you to "opt-out." This ploy is standard operating procedure - and somewhat disingenuous because they know that, even if you opt out, your information will have already become part of one or more databases which, for all practical purposes, you won't ever find out about.

The fact of the matter is that financial institutions thrive on your taking the deceptive bait (i.e. they promote their privacy policy as something that protects your information when, in fact, it's actually a disclosure about how they intend to abuse and share your private information).

The bottom line is that you need to be keenly aware of the following:

There is really no such thing as private information in today's electronic world where personal information is bought and sold at a premium.

- Ed Smith, Publisher
The EHS Letter Manual