The Information Commissioner's Office has been called in by crash repair chain NARS to investigate illegal access to personal data, including estimates for car repairs. The ICO is concerned that personal information was traded unlawfully, and that nuisance phone calls might have been the result.
The ICO's experience is that unscrupulous people access data about car accidents to sell on to marketing firms, according to Mike Shaw, enforcement manager, quoted in Motor Trader.
The ICO has carried out a search at a property in east London as part of the investigation. Motor Trader reports that the person of interest is not a current employee of NARS.
While it is not illegal to sell data such as lists of prospective customers, the data must have been obtained lawfully in the first place and the person selling it on must have the right to do so. The Data Protection Act 1998 contains detailed provisions to protect individuals' personal data, and section 55 makes it an offence to obtain or access personal data unlawfully.
(Motor Trader report 22 February 2017 http://www.motortrader.com/motor-trader-news/automotive-news/information-tsar-probes-repair-estimates-data-breach-24-02-2017?eea=SDdUT1B0TGNYbW5TV1drQ3grdVp0M3l3WXJWTHgxT01LaERTKzd1Tm5ZUT0=&n_hash=38&utm_source=eshot&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MT-MT-1947DailyNewsletter)
The ICO's experience is that unscrupulous people access data about car accidents to sell on to marketing firms, according to Mike Shaw, enforcement manager, quoted in Motor Trader.
The ICO has carried out a search at a property in east London as part of the investigation. Motor Trader reports that the person of interest is not a current employee of NARS.
While it is not illegal to sell data such as lists of prospective customers, the data must have been obtained lawfully in the first place and the person selling it on must have the right to do so. The Data Protection Act 1998 contains detailed provisions to protect individuals' personal data, and section 55 makes it an offence to obtain or access personal data unlawfully.
(Motor Trader report 22 February 2017 http://www.motortrader.com/motor-trader-news/automotive-news/information-tsar-probes-repair-estimates-data-breach-24-02-2017?eea=SDdUT1B0TGNYbW5TV1drQ3grdVp0M3l3WXJWTHgxT01LaERTKzd1Tm5ZUT0=&n_hash=38&utm_source=eshot&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=MT-MT-1947DailyNewsletter)
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