Big Data: Who is buying your personal information?     ~  hehe & the gov. is collecting ALL of it  Oops :0 ... fer pos~ter~i~tee , ya know fer the kids !

By Melanie Hicken 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/big-data-who-is-buying-your-personal-information-174055357.html;_ylt=A0LEV7tVEA9UOmYAuQgPxQt.;_ylu=X3oDMTByMG04Z2o2BHNlYwNzcgRwb3MDMQRjb2xvA2JmMQR2dGlkAw--?pt=BureoF3GVB

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What do political candidates, debt collectors, insurers and thieves have in common? They are all buying your most personal information from data brokers. Here's what they are using it for.

Political candidates
Politicians and their campaign teams have long targeted voters and potential donors by combing through things like public property records and voter registrations to find out how often you vote, what your home is worth and what party you are aligned with.
But now they're able to learn even more about you.
By buying reports from data brokers that track your purchases, web surfing habits and social media activity, political candidates can now figure out the issues you support, how much money you earn and the best way to reach you.

"(Big Data) tells us who they are, where they are, how old they are, what they like on Facebook, what they talk about online—and what they dislike," explained Jake Rosen, a Fleishman-Hlllard strategist, in a 2012 report about campaign use of data analytics.

The problem is that many Americans have no idea that they're being profiled, said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.
"Not only do you have no idea, but you have no way to control that process whatsoever," he said.
Debt collectors and repo men
If you're being hounded by a debt collector or repo man, don't be surprised if they seem to know an awful lot about you.
That's because companies in the business of tracking people down often buy a variety of information to aid in their efforts.

TransUnion's subsidiary, TLO, for example, says on its website that it will sell reports to debt collectors that include your Social Security number, cell phone number, details of the property you own, even the names of the friends and family you hang out with.

Under federal law, your Social Security number is fair game to be sold to debt collectors since it's being used for credit-related purposes. Although, in many cases, debt collectors already have your Social Security number.

And that's just the beginning. Some data brokers collect information gathered by license plate scanners to track "vehicle sightings," which provide the physical location of cars. They then sell that information to repossession companies and other firms.

In a report last year, the American Civil Liberties Union said these private databases raise "serious privacy concerns," in part because they aren't subject to any data security or privacy regulations.

Hospitals and insurers

Insurers, hospitals and other healthcare providers say they are purchasing consumer data to help patients live a healthier lifestyle. But privacy advocates think it's slippery slope.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina says it buys consumer data in order to identify members who might benefit from extra tools or treatments for various health issues, like obesity or diabetes.
Meanwhile, Carolinas HealthCare System, a network of hospitals, medical centers and doctors offices in North and South Carolina, is experimenting with combining consumer data with medical records to predict things like a patient's risk of having a heart attack.
"We can provide benefits to our patients with the same mechanism that are used to sell people more stuff," said Dr. Michael Dulin, the system's chief clinical officer for analytics and outcomes research.
Citing the company's contract with its data broker, Dulin wouldn't disclose the exact kinds of data being used. But he said the information will not be shared with other parties.
While federal law dictates that a person's information can't be used to outright deny them insurance coverage, privacy advocates say there are other issues at stake.
Consumer data collected by data brokers can be "startling inaccurate," for example, said World Privacy Forum Executive Director Pam Dixon. "Are hospitals using inaccurate data to do [this] analysis?" she asked.
Thieves and scammers
Hacking into your computer isn't the only way criminals get their hands on your personal information.
In some cases, thieves have been able to purchase names, addresses, financial information and even Social Security numbers from data brokers.

Credit giant Experian, for example, acknowledged that one of its subsidiaries unknowingly sold the personal data of millions of Americans -- including Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers and addresses -- to a fraudster in Vietnam, who then turned around and sold the information to identity thieves around the globe.

Experian has said it was an "unfortunate and isolated issue," but legislators have said such cases highlight the need for increased regulation.

Charities
You may want to think twice before writing that $25 check to your favorite charity.

Small gifts often barely cover the cost of soliciting that donation. As a result, many nonprofits will turn around and sell your information to make a profit, according to watchdog Charity Navigator.

Some sell or "rent" their donor lists directly to other charities, but others work with middlemen who then sell the donors lists to countless other organizations. The charities buying your information will then likely pepper you with their own solicitations.

"You get put on a sucker's list," said Ted Claypoole, a privacy attorney and co-author of "Privacy in the Age of Big Data."

To avoid ending up on the list, you can either write a much bigger check (charities tend to closely guard the personal information of their largest donors) or check a nonprofit's privacy policy before donating.

According to Charity Navigator, nearly half of nonprofits require donors to opt out of sharing their information or they have no policy at all.

Colleges and universities

Big Data is big business for colleges and universities.

Seeking to boost donations, many colleges and universities are buying data about alumni -- tracking everything from what type of car you drive to where you work.

The goal: to pinpoint how likely you are to give back, and how much. The more likely you are to give a big gift, the more mailings you will receive.

Schools are also using massive databases to try to get students enrolled in the first place.

Lists of millions of high school students, sold by The College Board and other groups, provide everything from their test scores and intended major to the sports they play, their ethnicity and whether their parents went to college.

University officials say the data helps them target students who are the best fit. But data privacy advocates like Dixon worry that the information could be used to discriminate.

"That's information that students should choose to give to schools, not what schools should be able to buy without the students knowing it," she said.