Dec. 13, 2006 - 20:45 MST

A SHOT AT IT

Seems that the powers that be are trying to become somewhat active in governing our ? homeland ? There was an article in yesterday's The Rocky Mountain News by Jeff Smith of that paper dealing with one aspect of the way things have been going and the biggies trying to do something.

Quoted here in full:

LAW PROTECTS PHONE RECORDS

H-P scandal helped persuade Senate to pass bill last week

"The Senate passed a bill just befoe adjourning Friday night that makes it a federal crime to obtain someone's private phone records through "pretext" such as impersonation."

"Colorado has long been a hub for phone-record brokers, in part because it's one of only a few states in the country that doesn't regulate private investigators."

"The issue came to the forefront earlier this year when a congressional committee investigated a number of data brokers, including former state Rep. Jim Welker, R-Loveland."

But it took the Hewlett-Packard scandal this fall to move the Senate bill along. H-P was found to have used private investigators, including a Jefferson County man, to get and examine the phone records of company directors, executives and journalists."

The Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 will make the sale or fraudulent transfer of telephone records a criminal offense subject to fines and imprisonment of up to 10 years. It now goes to President Bush for his signature into law."

"Colorado law-enforcement agencies haven't taken any action against phone-record brokers here."

"But Bryan Wagner, of Jefferson County, was among five people criminally charged by the California's attorney general office in October for his alleged role in impersonating H-P directors and a news reporter to obtain their telephone records."

"Wagner took the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify at a congressional hearing in September. He has pleaded not guilty to identity theft and other felony charges filed in California."

"Tom Dresslar, spokesman for California's attorney general's office, said Monday that the office believes existing California law covers the H-P incident "or we wouldn't have brought criminal charges" in the case. Dresslar added, the federal legislation "will provide further benefits to consumers."

"Rob Douglas, a Colorado information security consultant, said it has taken Congress years to pass phone-record legislation, noting he first testified before Congress on the issue in 1998. He wrote in an e-mail that he is part of an effort to work for a broader bill to protect all consumer records, but acknowledged that "will be an even tougher battle."

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Seems strange to me that my home state has not regulated investigators and prevented what amounts to "identity theft" by an investigator (whether private dick or journalist) purporting to be someone he isn't.

Also, it makes me more than ever wary of doing any kind of business at all over the phone.

Hope that is one bill that the president will sign.

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And then there is information in articles in today's paper that gives a bit of information on immigration identity theft. There are several pages of news on the raids on Swift & Co. meatpacking plants in several states Tuesday.

Quoting from one article : "Angelo Amador, director of immigation policy for the U.S Chamber of Commerce pointed out that Swift is voluntarily participating in the Basic Pilot Program, which allows employers to check whether items such as Social security numbers are valid. But the databse does not say whether they were fraudulently obtained."

Then what I gather is, all the fed's highly touted system "Basic Pilot" system can verify is if a social security number and name are valid -- but not if the person purporting to be that individual is really that person. Seems that some folks didn't know that their name and social security number was used by an immigrant, until federal authorities came down on them for not paying income tax on earned wages paid to an immigrant. Huh, something left out of the machinery there it would appear.

In another article is another bit, quote :"A 20-year-old federal law lists 29 different documents that employers can use to establish their identities and employment elegibility when they fill out what's known as and I-9 form to apply for work."

Looks as if our companies and corporations have been working under a system that is so loose that most anyone can be declared eligible to work. And along with that businesses suffer the danger of being accused of profiling brown complected people and being successfully sued.

It would seem that a foreigner in this country should be required to show their passport for sure. No passport -- shipped out back home.

But, at least ICE is on the scene and taking A SHOT AT IT . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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