Personal Details on file with dodgy marketing company

Morrigan

Hi there,

Today I stumbled across a website with dozens of lists containing contact details of thousands of people - full names, email addresses, phone numbers, and even street addresses. One of the lists includes my name and an old email address of mine.

The lists are in a directory of a website that claims to be an "automatic recruiter" that will send customers your way if you sign up. It seems that these lists are not meant to be accessible, unless you are registered with the website, because they cannot be reached from the homepage of the website, only if you know the exact url. So clearly there is a problem with the site's security.

Whatever it is, it seems wrong to me that these people's details are-

a) on file with this marketing company, most likely without the explicit consent of the people (I know I didn't give my consent and want to take my name off the list).

b) visible to all and sundry due to lack of website security.

I've tried to contact the admins of the website but there simply doesn't seem to be any way to get in touch with them or the company.

Does anyone know how I could get my details off this list? Or if there is any authority to whom I can report this apparent violation of privacy laws?

dahamsta

Report the breach to the Data Protection Commissioner's office. They can also assist with removal.

http://www.dataprotection.ie/

adam