How Much Does Personal Information Cost?
by: Pete Glocker
Your information may be sold by data brokers to companies and agencies everyday.
How many people out there get a credit card solicitation in the mail almost every day of the week? What about annoying phone calls trying to sell you something? Ever wonder how you got a birthday card or a calendar from a real estate company when they do not know you or your birth date? These companies, agencies and businesses get this information from commercial data brokers. In fact, they pay large sums of money for this valuable and personal information.
Here is a list of the average costs of personal data compiled from the data calculator on www.turbulence.org.
• Address - $0.50
• Past Address - $9.95
• Marriage/Divorce - $7.95
• Education Background - $12.00
• Employment History - $13.00
• Phone Number - $0.25
• Unpublished Phone Number - $17.50
• Cell Phone Number - $10.00
• Social Security Number - $8.00
• Credit History - $9.00
• Bankruptcy Information - $26.50
• Business Ownership - $9.95
• Shareholder - $1.50
• Felony - $16.00
• Lawsuit History – $2.95
• Sex Offender - $13.00 • Drivers License - $3.00
• Voter Registration - $0.25
As you can see, the price for personal information can be very costly. According to an article written by Jay MacDonald on www.Bankrate.com, commercial data brokers collect most of their information from public records, or from specialized data providers that mine public records. One such data broker is Regional Operating Bell Companies (RBOX), which provides telephone information for the white pages. Because data brokers are business-to-business providers, they tend to be invisible to the consumer.
There are websites for companies that want to get specific information about you. For a low cost membership fee, www.detectivemagic.com, will provide you with a person’s e-mail, phone number, FBI records, hidden assets, police record and their credit report, just to name a few. There are many more sites out there just like this one. Is this not scary? In fact, 142,000 hits came up when “find personal information” was typed into the popular search engine, Google.
The negative side of data brokers selling information is the chance that this information is flawed or totally incorrect. This can prevent you from getting the mortgage rate you want, the car of your dreams or landing the job you have always wanted. On a positive note, your ability to obtain credit or insurance is no longer a process that takes weeks or even days. Because your information is readily available, waiting for approval on a credit application can take as little as a few fours or even minutes.
One extra note: visit www.annualcreditreport.com and download your free credit report from the three major credit bureaus once a year. Make sure your information is correct.
Copyright 2006 Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp.
About The Author:
Pete Glocker is employed in the Education and Charitable Services Department at Debt Management Credit Counseling Corp. (“DMCC”), a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization located in Boca Raton, Florida. Pete graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a BA in Multimedia Journalism and was a web producer Intern for Tribune Interactive products Sun-Sentinel.com and SouthFlorida.com. DMCC provides free financial education, personal budget counseling, and debt management plans to consumers across the United States. Debt management plans offered by DMCC help consumers relieve the stress of excessive debt by reducing credit card interest rates, consolidating and lowering monthly payments, and stopping collection calls and late fees. DMCC financial counselors can be reached for free education materials, budget counseling and debt management plan quotes by calling 800-863-9011 or by visiting http://www.dmcccorp.org . Pete Glocker can be reached by email at pete@dmcccorp.org.
March 2006
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