i am forwarding this message to all the new mexico county's mailing lists in hope of warning you about personal data available on the internet. i am compiling a rio abajo database, but take great lengths in protecting people's privacy in living person or people born after 1918 in withholding personal data (dates, etc). but there are other databases and chart or family listings which this personal information (birthdates, social society number,etc.) which are the ripe picking for thieves to still your identity. it has happen to 2 people in my family. but hope you protect yourself before this happen. bye for now, sam-quito ************************************************************************* A message from Sam-Quito Padilla G. at: [email protected] NMGenWeb Archives File Manager http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nm/nmfiles.htm I save used/cancel postage stamps for charity, including duplicates. Send any amount to myself at: P.O. Box 53184, Albuquerque, NM 87153-3184 -----Original Message----- From: Sam-Quito Padilla G. <[email protected]> To: New Mexico Roots <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, December 02, 2001 3:14 PM Subject: NMGEN-L: concerns for the nmdi >hello nm cc's. > >as you know, the new mexico death index is on line for section one and two >(years 1899 to 1940 http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/nm/nmdi.htm). >i met up with my cousin whom works in the health department office of new >mexico yesterday and had a very good conversation. > >the main topic we chatted about was the events happening in the state of >california. i include at the end of this email, two articles from two >newspapers (but sure all the californian and boarding states have written >about the issue) about the privacy of their citizens and the on-line birth >index. texas has been included in this issue, as they have a birth index >on-line, or did before rootsweb had choose to remove these birth indices >on-line. > >i am sure the death indices would not be involved, as these people had been >deceased for (in new mexico case) at least 52 years or more. but with the >case of california and texas, this is not the case. so the new mexico death >index, for now, i believe is safe to be on-line, as there is no mention on >the index of Social Security number or mother's maiden name. along with >that, the state requires that only direct blood relatives can order a death >(and birth) certificate. one question, what is a blood relative? a cousin, >a brother, a niece? one volunteer in the nmdi project tried to order the >death certificate of her grandmother's sister, but was denied as she was not >a blood relative. > >another difference of new mexico and the state of california and many other >states, you can only order an official death (and birth) certificate from >vital records in santa fé (the county's governments can't issue these >certificates). in california and other states, you can order birth and >death certificates from county governments and there is much differences in >each county in california on policies of issuing death and birth >certificates. > >we had chatted about there is 75 years before any release of information on >births (only blood relatives can order birth certificates before the 75 year >time period officially, but the vital records sometimes applies this to any >birth or death certificate issue in new mexico for any time period). the >state of new mexico is waiting for the outcome of the california issue >before they decide on what new mexico will decide about any indices being >released. (FYI=in new mexico, there is a 75 years period before any birth >information can be release to the public, exception of blood relative, 52 >years period before any death information can be release to the public, >exception of blood relatives. but vital records state that "certificates >can only be issue to blood relatives".) > >bye for now, sam-quito > >====================== > >Calif. Lawmakers Mull Online Records >By JENNIFER COLEMAN, Associated Press Writer >http://www.latimes.com/technology/wire/sns-ap-online-birth-records1129nov29 . >story > >SACRAMENTO -- California birth records -- available online through genealogy >sites -- could be used to create false identity documents, a state lawmaker >warned. > >But even privacy advocates admit limiting access to the public records won't >solve the problem of identity theft, or the production of fake >identification cards, such as those used by the men suspected in the Sept. >11 terrorist attacks. > >State Sen. Jackie Speier said Wednesday she was appalled that California >officials sold an index of birth records dating back to 1905 to genealogy >site RootsWeb.com. > >With a few clicks of the mouse, Speier demonstrated at a Senate hearing on >privacy how easily she could find information such as date of birth and >mother's maiden name for herself -- and state Attorney General Bill Lockyer. > >That information is often used by banks as identifiers for transferring >funds, she said. > >The Department of Health Services sold the index twice this year for about >$900 each, officials said. The state doesn't keep records of who buys the >indices. > >"The index is a public record. We are compelled to provide that information" >under the California Public Records Act, said Mike Rodrian, chief of the >DHS's center for health statistics. > >Calls to RootsWeb.com by The Associated Press seeking comment were not >immediately returned. > >Copies of birth certificates are available through county registrars or >through the state vital records office in Sacramento, said DHS spokeswoman >Lea Brooks. > >Though the state database contains "two of the three key pieces of >information needed to commit fraud" removing the list might not reduce >identity theft, said Beth Givens, executive director of the San Diego-based >Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. > >"The vast majority of identity theft cases don't involve birth certificates. >Where the birth certificate factors in is primarily where it's used by >undocumented immigrants to obtain identification," she said. > >Speier said the fact that birth records are public "should raise some red >flags" especially following news that suspects in the Sept. 11 terrorist >attacks were able to get fake driver's licenses in Florida and Virginia. > >Terry Francke, with the California First Amendment Coalition, said other >states have been removing public documents from the Internet following the >Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. > >"There is a fair spate of this happening," Francke said. > >In September, the U.S. Judicial Conference decided to remove online access >to federal criminal filings, saying the documents would remain available at >courthouses, but were too available on the Internet. Other government >agencies have also pulled some information off-line. > >The Environmental Protection Agency no longer offers detailed reports on >chemical plants online, saying the information could be used in terrorist >attacks. The reports are still available at the agency's office. > >The debate over whether birth records are public records should be focused >on if the documents "give the people the ability to keep an eye on their >government, or is it providing access to people's personal information," >said Gary Daniels, of the National Center Against Censorship. >___ >On the Net: >The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: http://www.privacyrights.org >Copyright 2001 Associated Press > >++++ > >Published Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, in the San Jose Mercury News >http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/local/docs/privacy29.htm > >State sells birth data to Web site, raising fears >BY DION NISSENBAUM >Mercury News Sacramento Bureau > >SACRAMENTO -- The birth records of more than 24 million Californians have >been sold by the state and posted on the Internet, offering easy access to >critical information needed to create fake identities. > >By logging onto a genealogy Web site, people can gain access to such >personal data as someone's place of birth and mother's maiden name, which >can then potentially be used to access bank records and other sensitive >material. > >While the sale of the database was legal, a leading state senator and expert >on privacy said Wednesday that she was ``appalled'' by the news and wanted >to find ways to restrict access to such information. > >``The time has come for us to recognize that identity theft has become a big >problem,'' said state Sen. Jackie Speier, D-San Mateo. ``The fact that this >information is public should raise a red flag.'' > >The ongoing war on terrorism has sparked a renewed nationwide debate over >how to balance personal privacy and national security. Since the Sept. 11 >attacks, experts from Washington to San Jose have been discussing everything >from a national identity card to extensive background checks for people who >buy airline tickets. > >Concerns about false IDs were heightened by news that several of the alleged >Sept. 11 hijackers were able to get fake driver's licenses in Florida and >Virginia. Several states have already started to tighten rules for getting >driver's licenses. > >At a special hearing Wednesday on privacy, state leaders demonstrated how >easy it is to get the building blocks for identity theft. Using the free >genealogy Web site with the California birth information, a legislative aide >typed in the name of California Attorney General Bill Lockyer and quickly >came up with his mother's maiden name, along with the date and county of his >birth. > >That could provide a thief with enough information to check Lockyer's bank >accounts or get a new birth certificate, Speier said. In most cases, >however, a person would need at least one other piece of information -- such >as a bank account number or Social Security number -- to access a financial >account. > >Under current law, California sells birth and death records. The site, >Rootsweb.com, claims to be the oldest and largest free genealogy Web site. >The site lists 24.5 million California birth records and 9 million death >records from the state. > >One other state, Texas, has provided similar information to the company. > >Lea Brooks, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health Services, said >birth records from 1909 to 1995 sell for about $900 and that just two people >had bought the information in the past year. She could not identify the >buyers. > >California is one of just a few states that make birth certificates easily >available, one privacy expert said. > >Making it more difficult to get that information seems both reasonable and >necessary, said Jamie Love, director of the Consumer Project on Technology, >a Washington, D.C.-based privacy protection group created by Ralph Nader. > >``If identity theft wasn't a problem, this wouldn't be a problem,'' he said. >``But, given the limited number of data points that banks and other >institutions ask for before they grant access to your information, it seems >like this creates a problem.'' > >Not everyone was as concerned about the database. > >State Sen. Debra Bowen, a Redondo Beach Democrat and member of the Senate >Privacy Committee, said there was little evidence to suggest that thieves >are taking such information to create fake identities. > >Bowen said that the Internet site contains only basic information and that >anyone can legally get any California birth certificate across the state. > >``Unless you can answer the question that crooks are going down to get the >birth certificate and using that fraudulently, what's the problem?'' she >asked. >--------------------------------------------------------------------------- - >---- >Contact Dion Nissenbaum at [email protected] or (916) 441-4603. > > >