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The author of this blog, David T.S. Fraser, is a Canadian privacy lawyer who practices with the firm of McInnes Cooper. He is the author of the Physicians' Privacy Manual. He has a national and international practice advising corporations and individuals on matters related to Canadian privacy laws.

For full contact information and a brief bio, please see David's profile.

Please note that I am only able to provide legal advice to clients. I am not able to provide free legal advice. Any unsolicited information sent to David Fraser cannot be considered to be solicitor-client privileged.

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The views expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be attributed to his employer or clients. Any postings on legal issues are provided as a public service, and do not constitute solicitation or provision of legal advice. The author makes no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained herein or linked to. Nothing herein should be used as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel.

This web site is presented for informational purposes only. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a solicitor-client relationship between you and David T.S. Fraser. If you are seeking specific advice related to Canadian privacy law or PIPEDA, contact the author, David T.S. Fraser.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

New finding from the Privacy Commissioner: Bank employee's actions deemed reprehensible

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has recently posted a new summary of a finding related to a number of unauthorized credit checks carried out by an employee of a bank. The credit checks, plus a whole range of sensitive financial information were disclosed by the employee to the complainant's former business partner.

As is always the case, the Commissioner did not name the bank and there is no word on what the bank actually did to address this "reprehensible" conduct by an employee who violated her clear obligations of confidentiality.

Commissioner's Findings - PIPEDA Case Summary #312: Bank employee's actions deemed reprehensible (August 30, 2005):
"... The bank indicated that three credit inquiries that the complainant questioned were conducted as part of the normal procedure for opening accounts with the bank. However, it was determined that eight inquiries made over a two-year time period were performed by, or at the request of, a bank employee. The bank agreed that these inquiries were conducted without the complainant's knowledge or consent, and for non-business purposes. The bank apologized to him, indicated that it had taken appropriate action as a result of the matter, and offered to have the inquiries removed, with his consent, from his credit report...."

Labels: information breaches, privacy

9/20/2005 09:57:00 PM :: (2 comments) :: Backlinks

Comments:

This post has been removed by a blog administrator.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 21, 2005 5:06 PM

I have deleted a comment above, which appears to be from the individual who made this complaint. It wasn't a decision I made lightly, but I thought I had to do so because the content appeared to be defamatory and I do not want my website to be a forum for such stuff. The individual posted a link to his website, which contains his story: http://www.rnr-online.com/creditreporterrors/credithistory.html.

# posted by