Hightower Lowdown

Al Newman of Olympia, Washington unwittingly found himself in the midst of a bank robbery.

But the robbers weren't stealing from the bank—they were the bank. And the theft was not of money but of Al Newman's personal financial data.

Al received a solicitation in the mail from an insurance company, and the mailing included a reference number that struck Al as familiar. Then it hit him—it was his bank account number! His own bank had sold his most private financial information without even notifying him, much less getting his permission.

The crime here is that corporate trafficking in our personal data is not a crime! Indeed, it's big business for banks, which make millions of dollars by peddling your account numbers, bank balance, loan history, address, social security number, credit card numbers, and other sensitive information—all to other firms.

Bank lobbyists and Congress just teamed up to pass a new financial conglomeration bill that specifically legalizes this marketing of your personal records among banks, insurance companies and stock brokerages that merge. So your banker will have your health records, and your insurance company will get your mortgage information—plus your tax return that's filed with your mortgage.

They should have to have our written permission to use any of our private information. To battle the bankers on financial privacy, contact US Public Interest Research Group at 202 546 9707.