The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which brought the
case, said that it has begun an investigation into organisations
which buy illegally-obtained information.
The convicted couple, Stephen and Sharon Anderson of St Ives in
Cambridgeshire, used social engineering, rather than technology, to
steal the data. They 'blagged' the information from organisations
including HM Revenue and Customs and BT.
By phoning organisations and often posing as employees, the
couple were able to obtain bank account details, income tax
information and ex-directory telephone numbers of their
targets.
The Guardian newspaper has reported that the pair were working
for private detective agencies which hired them to find out
information about specific people. Such information is often paid
for by clients involved in disputes with spouses or by
newspapers.
Information Commissioner Richard Thomas recently issued a report
in which he condemned the widespread use of detective agencies and
private contractors to trade in illegally obtained and illicitly
traded personal information.
"Investigations by the ICO and the police have uncovered
evidence of a widespread and organised undercover market in
confidential personal information," said the report, What Price
Privacy?
"Among the ‘buyers’ are many journalists looking for a story. In
one major case investigated by the ICO, the evidence included
records of information supplied to 305 named journalists working
for a range of newspapers. Other cases have involved finance
companies and local authorities wishing to trace debtors; estranged
couples seeking details of their partner’s whereabouts or finances;
and criminals intent on fraud or witness or juror intimidation,"
said the report.
"The ‘suppliers’ almost invariably work within the private
investigation industry: private investigators, tracing agents, and
their operatives, often working loosely in chains that may include
several intermediaries between ultimate customer and the person who
actually obtains the information," it said.
Thomas wants to see stiffer sentencing for those convicted of
such offences. "The crime at present carries no custodial
sentence," he wrote in the report's introduction. "When cases
involving the unlawful procurement or sale of confidential personal
information come before the courts, convictions often bring no more
than a derisory fine or a conditional discharge. Low penalties
devalue the data protection offence in the public mind."
Mick Gorill, head of the Regulatory Action Division at the ICO,
said that the office was conducting investigations into
organisations which buy private and illegally obtained
information.
Jon Sanders is a managing director who experienced problems
after his bank account details and mortgage payments details were
illegally obtained. "My wife's and my personal information was
gathered because of my business dealings but it has had a
detrimental impact on my family life as my wife is very upset," he
said.
