I agree with Tom from St Louis. Our culture is judge by our financial success and many times an unexpected expense will give an employee with access both the means and the motivation

A website without a live chat would be something like - A customer walks into a car showroom and looks at all the models; he spends some time, and walks out of the showroom with a contact number in hand. He may be left with numerous questions in mind. He may or may not contact the dealer. While a website with a Live Chat Support would be having a salesman in the showroom who can study the customer from the moment he enters the showroom, solving his answers all along and sending him back with all his queries well attended!

Efunds,experian all have their development and processing centers in India. But where do you think that the leaks are? HERE. The security there is airtight. Much more than here. All mail sites, data loading sites are blocked. Outgoing mails are scanned. Entry and exit are controlled by access cards. An employee working in one department cannnot wander into another department. The systme have all the storage drives such as Floppy drives, CD Drives etc disabled. The employees are very well qualified people in call centers are paid top salaries compared to the other industries in India. Wonder what should be the means or motivation to steal data? . On the other hand consider this. Though access card control is here, all the systems have copying devices enabled. External emails enabled, low salaries for call centers. One alimony and child support payment and a man is in trouble. He has the means and motivation to steal data.

More data was lost here in a year than all those years data was outsourced. Citibank, Wells Fargo, Bank of America etc.

Add WalMart, Ford, Chevrolet, GM, Sprint, Microsoft Products, Norton Antivirus, Mastercard, Purina (Your pet food in case you didnt know),Oracle,Chevron, All the credit bureaus, Any plastic American Flag, Your doctor, your linen and much, much more to your list along with Old Navy and Dell.

If the corporates think that you would buy their products only if they give a good deal or bargain....it is you who have forced the jobs out of this country. So please dont throw wild accusations and generalizations on some culture you cant comprehend.

It is not as simple as refusing to do business with Dell computer, or cancelling your Old Navy credit card. I just pulled my credit report from Experian, one of the top three credit reporting agencies. My report was 45 pages long. Experian had merged two other people's information into it. Their names, social security numbers, bank acct numbers, addresses credit cards, employment information....everything. When I called to dispute the report, my call was routed to India. They had every bit of my information there. We don't have to worry about threats like Osama Bin Laden. One mega electronic funds transfer could suck the US dry in a matter of hours. They have all the information to do it. My husband and I both work in the Information Technology field. His job at IBM was outsourced to India, and the company I work for is doing the same. My husband found a new job at half his old salary...hopefully that won't be outsourced too. More and more of our jobs will be outsourced and this is going to have a devastating effect on our economy. Gone will be the accounting, engineering, radiologists, and whatever jobs can be performed cheaper offshore. Our government (for the corporation, by the corporation) has sold us out.

Is 'acceptance' the same thing as 'resignation'?

I don't want anyone beyond the borders having my info.It scares me to death. Anyone in their right minds would want to keep their info private. The foreigners already have us where they want us. I say get rid of politicians who are getting extra money in their pockets for these outsourcinig jobs. I prefer to have someone speak to me in English so i understand what they are saying. And they do change their names to American names so they think people will be in the dark. I prefer to keep jobs in the U.S., not overseas.

This is issue is hopeless...It seems as if as soon as the "do not call list" was imlemented the calls started coming from India.

Dear India,

It's nothing personal or racist but, I will not be refinancing my home out of a call originating from your country.
I'm going to help the thousands of American Telemarkets & Tech Support people who lost their jobs to you by promptly hanging up at the sound of your voice.

General Motors is among the latest companies to outsource their customer service... They are moving their call centers from Oregon and Tampa to Argentina, the Phillipines, and Canada. The only US based call center will be in Austin, Texas to "appease" the US customers that demand to speak with an American. The problem is, most of them are hispanic. They will be moving their Command Center from the Ren Cen to Austin, Texas. This is leaving several US citizens without a job, my family and friends included. They don't care about the consumer, only profits. GM is no longer US. Most of the parts are made/assembled in other countries and so are most of the vehicles. They claim to be an American company, but how can you claim that when 99% of your operations are outside the US? Think of all the personal information that GM has that will be going to other countries. They have secure information of consumers and dealerships. GM doesn't even run the call centers... IBM was contracted to GM who then contracted Minacs and Convergys to run these call centers. My plan, don't buy a GM vehicle...

Okay, someone at one of my clients who ARE getting outsourced thought it would be funny to post my name and a bogus comment on this subject. I did not think that was very funny and I hope people would not associate me or my company with that sort of attitude.

I'm just a simple housewife who is also a military wife who once worked but whos job was outsourced to India while my husband was deployed to Iraq. Gee, how could that happen, I mean we're stationed at the time at Ft.Hood only the largest Army post in the US. But the owner of the company I worked for could care less about military spouses. All she cares about is money. This company outsource medical billing which by the way included Military personal information. Does that just sound wrong to me? Since people make the country then we the people have to make the big and little companies who do this make it very clear that our information is going overseas. That when we call thier 800 numbers that its not in USA but somewhere else. Hey you want to outsource fine go ahead but LET ME KNOW. Its my info so it should be my choice and right. I personally will never buy another Dell computer because everytime I see one of thier commericals where it shows a rep picking up the phone I know its a lie. Why is it so hard for companies to just come out and tell us we out source its simple and should be made very clear when you buy something, order something, or call somewhere. I mean we buy foreign cars so we're not all against compaines outside the US but we know what we're getting. What happened to being honest.

There is another insidious side to all of this. As a data analyst, I can tell you that most companies are very aware of privacy issues. The risk of shipping this information oversees is not "an unintended potential consequence"... rather it is likely the primary motivation. Especially because there is no need to disclose such leaks should they occur.

Let's look at it this way - companies routinely examine risk from many different angles. This is not a trivial exercise, but rather is very integral to their business operations. So, put aside for a moment that the labor is cheaper overseas and imagine that the cost of operations were precisely the same. However, by operating overseas, you (as a company) gain the advantage of not having disclose data leaks if they occur and the rules you are required to follow are much more lax so you have much more flexibility to run the data almost any way you want. Now, imagine you are an executive at a company watching people get outraged at data leaks and knowing that you face significant consequences if you get caught - perhaps losing your job - perhaps losing business for the company - perhaps jail time? But by outsourcing the data management and since it is the company overseas lost the data, there is no risk of accountability. After all, most companies don't worry about doing bad things - they only worry about doing bad things that result in them getting caught. Which would you choose?

After this realization is made - then the next step is to realize "oh, by the way, we can do all this AND save money because of cheaper labor".

It has been suggested that the cheaper labor is the thing driving these decisions which in turn leads to increased risk to the consumer. However, I respectfully disagree and believe it is the other way around. I believe it is the lowered risk to the company (and to their executives) that drives the decision, the increased risk to the consumer is irrelevant since they will never have to disclose it and the lower labor costs are the icing on the cake.

Ha ha ha. Recently I tried to get a medical report (my own medical report). Couldn't get it - something about HIPPA and third parties. Had to sign a release form and send it to the original treating doctor, although the report had been sent to my second doctor right in town and he couldn't give it to me. Too much privacy at home, none overseas, apparently.

This business - Outsourcing - is about one thing above all - Money. Americans love it, Indians love it. Thats what drives this.

Unless there is a large group of Americans that proclaims that we are willing to pay 3-5 times the price and buy from companies that make/service things in the US, this process will not stop but accellerate.

Modifying the line from Julius Ceaser - The fault, my dear Brutus, lies not in our Outsourcers, but in ourselves.

This is one of many reasons why I provide fake personal information for everything except activities that have tax reporting requirements. I never apply for credit or loans, so this isn't a problem; however, nosy medical providers, utilities, and the like always, if they insist on obtaining such information as a condition of business, get a fake Social Security number, driver license number, and so on. I even rent a post office box I use solely as an address for these outfits (so they know where to send the billing information)simply because I know that if I don't protect my privacy, no one else will.

After terrorists steal information from an offshore outsourcing company, being American Identities to finance and gain fraudulent passports, enter the United States and comment violence, will those in Washington DC will pass legislation making illegal to share, Social Security Numbers, Date of Birth, finical information outside of U.S. Boarders and or U.S. Territories?

For years we have been encouraging our laid-off manufacturing and clerical workers to "go into IT" because that was where all the jobs were supposed to be at in the future. It is now 2006. This is the future. The IT field cannot absorb the millions of intelligent workers who need a high-paying job to afford a family, decent housing, college for the kids, etc. We are now yanking the rug out from under ourselves. If it were not for unlimited credit, millions of consumers would be unable to afford their lifestyles, and the resulting loss of purchasing power by Americans would ironically collapse the corporate system we all need but despise.

I find it interesting to see the faulty logic people are using to justify their opinions of workers in vrious nations and whether they trust them with our information or not. Such broad generalizations are dangerous at times. Suppose most companies in India are mad up of conscientious, trustworthy workers. Odds are there'll be at least one company that isn't trustworthy, and that's what the legislation needs to address.

We go there and set up American Fast food chains (pizza huts, KFC, mcDonalds), play the latest hollywod movies in theaters, sell drink Pepsi and Coke, and the list goes on. Ford has a plant in india to make cars. Motorola sell phones there. That money doesn't come back to the US? Trade is a 2 way street.

I know this isn't a chat room, but a remark by Phyllis begs a reply. She states that outsourcing has made goods and services less expensive. That is not the case. Have you noticed a drop in your doctor's rate when the calls are handled in India? How about your computer - mine is an Apple MacBook Pro - now that it is made in China? No? That is because all outsourcing has accomplished is to increase profits for corporations and investors who do it. It is rather like the claims we heard, up until recently, that all of those illegal alien workers simply take jobs that no Amercian wants. When the statistics were provided that proved that was an out and out falsehood, that thousands of construction and manufacturing and other jobs have been taken by these people, that they do not pay taxes in something like 70% of the cases, the answer has changed to "well if the illegal's didn't do those jobs then the price of you new home (or whatever) would be double". Every single argument for outsourcing and foreign workers is simply rubbish and it's high time the press and very angry voters started to do something about it.

I started to go into IT but decided it was a bad career move the more people I met who told me horror stories about the IT sector going overseas. I was enrolled at ITT Tech and making good grades. A lot of people graduate and get stuck with a $14 an hour entry-level IT job and $40,000 in student loans. They can't "move up the ladder" because there is no ladder in IT. You are either very very good at it, in some particular hot program, or you are answering the phone at the Help Desk wondering if it's too late to get trained as a real estate agent. I saw a recent article in MSNBC that said "Demand for IT workers was going up". The article then says that the number of layoffs was decreasing. This just means that they are running out of mid-level positions to outsource. My advice to Doug above is to go into something else while you are still young. I don't blame you for your anger one bit. Thx.

I started to go into IT but decided it was a bad career move the more people I met who told me horror stories about the IT sector going overseas. I was enrolled at ITT Tech and making good grades, A lot of people graduate and get stuck with a $14 an hour entry-level IT job and $40,000 in student loans. They can't "move up the ladder" because there is no ladder in IT. You are either very very good at it, in some particular hot program, or you are answering the phone at the Help Desk wondering if it's too late to get trained as a real estate agent. I saw a recent article in MSNBC that said "Demand for IT workers was going up". The article then says that the number of layoffs was decreasing. This just means that they are running out of mid-level positions to outsource. My advice to Doug Above is to go into something else while you are still young. Thx.

There seems to be more than a few angrily composed responses to this column. I've posted here before because I firmly believe that the vast majority of the strife that fuels this "blog" is caused and supported 100% by the very confused ruminant consumers who blindly point fingers and wave fists here daily. Every single one of us should be ashamed of ourselves for not having the character or backbone to do without the modern conveniences and minor cost savings that WE demand. It is OUR incessant crybaby tantrums that have lead to the creation of the newest and most violently nauseating corporate buzzword action plan ever conceived of... Faster Better Cheaper... This idiotic ideaology is the very crux of the problem. Corporations can only maintain both wildly overpaid executives and quality products and service for so long. At some point something has to give. The CEO is not where the "giving" is ever going to start. The solution corporate America has lovingly embraced in its "F.B.C." philosophy involves amongst other things the enlistment of any third world worker willing to do the work of spoiled Americans for roughly one tenth the salary. It's basically the same tactic border state farmers employ with migrant illegal labor without all the illegal border crossing. Modern technology allows corporate America to exploit a very willing workforce of third world denizens without anything more than an internet connection and some dedicated phone lines. Jobs get outsourced, service and overall product quality get lumped into the low end of mediocrity and America gets the same shaft the rest of the world has enjoyed for years. What continually amazes me is the volume of finger pointing and postulating that generates absolutely ZERO solutions to anything. What is the point of becoming furious to such a degree that you post extremely vulgar and racist remarks on a blog if you

A. Can't identify the cause of the problem you "Hate"
B. Have no proposed solution to the problem you can't identify
C. Can't see that YOU along with the rest of American consumers caused this to happen

and most importantly...

D. Are NOT willing to make the necessary sacrifice to change anything.

I've said it before and I maintain that it remins as true now as it has always been. The symptoms every post here describes and the anger those symptoms have created are directly proportional to our own laziness and willingness to exchange mediocrity for pampered comfort. In other words We The People are Capitalists and if you cannot accept that America is a societal representation of a massive Profit and Loss ledger then you need to pull your head out of the dark warm place it has been lodged in and open your eyes. If Capitalism rubs you that wrong, get on the list to renounce your citizenship and emigrate to China...i hear they're hiring...

Maybe I should call myself Habib when I answer the phone at home so telemarketers will leave me alone!

Having data sent overseas for processing cuts costs. American companies make more and you pay less. And most Americans jump at the chance for that cost savings. Would you pay a premium to keep your data onshore? The sad fact is that no, most Americans would not pay to keep their data here - and there are studies that confirm this. So think about that when you're rallying over the $19.95 deal you got on tax preparation (or perhaps raving about the bargain you got at Walmart - one of the largest outsourcers). Incidentally, I'm an American and I love my country.

Doug, I'm so sorry to hear that you are entering the ranks of Amercian workers, especially technology sector workers, whose jobs are being outsourced. Think of it this way, I'm an engineer, too, and I've had THREE jobs outsourced...all to India. But console yourself to the fact that you will not add to the unemployment numbers. Actually you jobs being outsourced will ADD to the weekly jobs report because the Bush Whitehouse designates jobs created overseas, even jobs created expressly for foreign workers, as "new" created technology sector jobs. You, on the other hand, are not included because your old job is counted as non-existant and YOU are now counted as a trainee for new/different job.

You mifght want to ask MSNBC and Microsoft why Bill Gates in lobbying to more than triple the allowed number of H1B visa's while 20% of American engineers are out of work. You might also want to ask them why they do not report, and reported regularly and loudly every single week, about the fixed jobs and economic report that is issued by the Whitehouse and their tame Commerce Deartment. But all of that would require some honest to God investigative reporting and work and might risk offending someone and might piss of Mr. Gates and bunch of investors, too.

ID Theft can happen anywhere in the world (US), not only in China or India. Call centers are hiring very highly professional and has US level security for the call centers/data. Globalization is good for developing countries and not for grown up. When US companies Coke and Pepsi came to india decades ago, all local soft drink companies went bankrupt. It is happening same in the IT job industry vice versa.

Indian call centers/BPOs usually have a pretty good security policy. No documents can be taken in/out, all phone lines are monitored.So the chance of theft is much less for that reason.
There are honest and dishonest people everywhere-not just in India.
If you hate outsourcing as it destroys jobs in USA,that is understandable. But attack it for that reason, not for a fake argument about privacy

The issue of outsourcing gets pretty complicated but most times, can be linked back to one direct cause -- increased production costs from labor and materials. If you don't like outsourcing then quit trying to save a buck everywhere you go. Walmart's products are cheap because they import them from countries with lower labor costs. If you don't like that then quit shopping at Walmart and send them a real message. Be prepared to pay twice as much for everything and companies won't have quite as much incentive to ship everything overseas. It's quite simple -- take responsibility for your needs and problems and quit blaming others.

I find it revolting sending high paying American jobs to foreign countries because they are cheap labor. Why did I join the Navy during Desert Shield/Storm so my job could go to some Indian/Asian? It is just the lowest bar a company can cross. OUTSOURCE AMERICAN JOBS TO A FOREIGN Country. FCG (First Consulting Group --http://www.fcg.com/Careers/Careers_In.aspx?Category=Jobs) will send our jobs to India and Vietnam... Yes Vietnam where we lost 58,226 American Soldiers and 153,303 US military personnel were wounded - tells you something about business ethics. THANKS FCG, tell HO CHI Minh we said HI.

I can't wait for this issue to simply blow up in everyone's face. India has NO law protecting your privacy. Once a company there gets your information, your health records, credit reports, Social Security Number, etc. there isn't a thing you can do about it. Eventually, that information WILL be sold and American's will pay dearly for this. What I don't want to hear is "I didn't know" or "What can I do about it" or some equally lame excuse. Beyond this, we are sending India (China, too) detailed information about our entire infrastructure - our emergency response plans, cellure and telephone systems, dam and water controls, all of our technology that even allows us to exist. Someday, someday very soon, all of this is going to come back and haunt us.

Every politician needed to be asked about their stand on this, outsourcing, and all immigration. If they are for the status-quo, for doing nothing, or even for increasing this, they need to be tossed out of office....and I say this as a Democrat. I'm sick to death of turning on the nightly news and watching some left wing baffoon trying to score points against the Republicans by advocating illegal aliens and guest workers taking jobs from American's. Now, I detest what the Republican's are doing and believe our Middle East policy is a disaster, I even have a son in Iraq, but I have a very difficult time trying to decide which is the greater evil. Maybe it's time for a new political party that actually represents the American people.

Actually the privacy vs. outsourcing issue is misguided. Your information is just as at risk of exposure in the US as any place else. The core of the issue is a lack of education and accountability.
1. The current management pool globally does not actually comprehend information technology. The perception that information technology is a commodity item and can be managed as such is quite simply wrong.
2. The privacy laws that exist actually are quite extensive, however, they do not make the individuals running these companies responsible. They are tantamount to the US bancruptcy laws of the 80s and 90s.
Unfortunately, in my opinion, the current situation will not change for decades. The persons currently running the show, on a global basis, both economically and politically, simply do not have the experience or comprehension to manage information correctly, to them it is still a simple cost center, and therefore needs to be done as economically as possible regardless of the quality of the result.

In short, constant economic pressure on any cost center results directly in a reduction of the quality of service.

In this case the service is your privacy.

This article seems to be a scare tactic against outsourcing. Why is your information any more dangerous in the hands of and Indian than in those of another U.S. citizen? I would argue that it is the other way around. Think about it. Who is more likely to misuse your info? "Jill" in Hyderabad who can't easily put it to use in his or her home country, or Jack in Boise who, working such a low wage job, could easily be an ex-con with a meth lab at home.

The question that needs to be asked is why do these companies need so much information in the first place? For example you are required by govt. to give your ssn now days to have a bank account, even if it is non-interest bearing. Many private companies also require this info for utilities, phone service, apartment rental, or medical procedures.

Honestly, is the world so unsafe now that we can't let people bank/buy electricity/rent/have an operation without some degree of anonymity? I think not.

If I spent the time REQUIRED to read and respond to all of the Privacy Notices I get in the mail each week from my doctors, my bank and my credit card companies, then I wouldn't have the time to actually have a job. If I didn't have the job, then I wouldn't have the money to spend as a consumer and I wouldn't be in this mess. It's a vicious, vicious, cyle that, like many government bureaucracies, has regrettably spiraled out of our personal control.
What irks me the most is that I can't see my OWN information unless I pay someone else for it!!
As an investor, I want the companies that I have a vested interest in to cut their expenses but the blade used to do that cuts both ways in today's world economy. I realize I can't have it both ways, but as someone stated earlier we have very little choice and it's all or nothing; we can't pick which information we want to share or how it's shared. It's a lousy situation for the little guy...the same little guy that actually generates the billions of dollars of commerce by going out and spending money instead of reading all of those Privacy Notices.

So much for democracy. Our government is going to dictate our personal lives anyway. So, let's just outsource all of our politicians! Think of the funding that would be saved by no having them getting social security (when they don't pay into it), no more expense accounts, no more soliciting bribes, etc. Then we can further the savings by outsourcing the doctors and lawyers! There's a big savings there, and for the grand finale, let's just outsource the oil company's and the remainder of corporate America! Get rid of all the blood sucking CEO's. Let's just put everyone up for grabs and sit back to watch the fall of the most beautiful country in the world. What has our "America" come to? There are rules that I must follow, but others are exempt from. I want my personal life just that; personal! My information is "my information". Why should my government jeopardize my safety and identity! The government, or country that personal information has been sent to, is responsible if my information is stolen and used for personal gain. It's called "tough luck Charlie"! Well, no thank you, very much! I am totally against outsourcing. I've seen nothing but additional costs to the taxpayers since the goverment has gone ballistic on the practice. It worked 20 years ago when there was a 33% savings, but it's not there anymore. Besides, put a cap on life here in the U.S. and keep our jobs here so that funding can be generated for social security and other retirement plans. Think about it people; if no one is paying into it, it's going to go away!

You fail to consider the reverse - American companies which have access to private information of non-Americans. For example, there are US companies which manage health care information for Canadians. The US companies are subject Homeland Securities laws which override Canadian measures to protect patients' privacy. So it cuts both ways!

Inherent in this article is that somehow, there's marvellous protection of our personal information if it doesn't cross an ocean. This is, of course, not true. If I went around telling people that you had not paid your bills and in general could not be trusted to lend money to, I could (and should) be sued for libel. Even if you were such a person the burden of proof should be on me, not on you. However, credit "reporting" companies do that to millions of identity theft victims with impunity. Banks, brokerage firms and credit card companies happily sell your personal data to each other all the time.

I beg to differ. Most corporations are run by people who know the issues but choose to look the other way. After all, they do the risk analysis. So what if a few people get hurt as long as the decision makers get their bonus.

People are ambivalent... until there Identity is stolen. I have read enough stories now that I have strictly limited what info I give out and has limited the business I do. It is a pain sometimes but companies should reckognize that their failure to control customer information might cost them business.

Checksystems, the company that banks use to check on people is in South Africa. Their main office is in California, yet the centers when you call are South Africa. This means that all of the Social Security and Drivers License info is in another country. Should we care? I say yes.

If an organization wants to process my personal information overseas, it should ask my permission for the right to do so. Of course, I would answer NO. Another possible answer is that I would try to deal with another organization, one that supports information workers who live in the U.S.

with identity theft a huge problem here in the United States, it surprises me that our business community would allow sending any of our personal information to another country. Yes there are lots of people who feel this way. But hey... we are only the people who pay all of those big salaries that the big CEO's make. Maybe they should have their identity stolen and bank account emptied. Then maybe things will change. But I doubt it.

Movement of data makes the safety and security of anyones' personal information an elusion. Sadly it will only get worse.

Being "in the business" of outsourcing, the privacy issue, for me, is rather paramount and when I call any phone number asking for support, I do ask the question as far as 'in which country are you located'?

I don't want to say I am "Hindi-phobic".. let's just say that while most are respectful in India (and with my travels to India, I experience all kinds of people first-hand), there are some who's sole intention is to make money. Not establish long-term relationships with any customer or company. When issues do come up (and yes.. even if you say 1/2 of 1% out of a population of how many workers in the outsource business).. how much turmoil can those few create internationally.

Until I see more respect for intellectual property rights by this country (India) and others like it (China), I will never feel totally secure with my personal information in a country where its laws don't provide the victim with much recourse. I believe any country which sends its customers' data beyond its borders needs to fully disclose it. After all, what harm could come of it if such a survey shows so many disinterested people? It only moves to bolster a company's "responsibile" image, no?

This issue should not just be about potential data theft, it is also about sending GOOD American jobs offshore. Global economy you say? What are we going to do for jobs when our big corporations have sent all the decent, entry-level jobs to India and the cheap, illegal immigrants who have been granted amnesty get the 'ones we don't want'? If the trend continues, the average American won't have the money to pay for the services our corporations offer us.
Show our corporations we're not happy and whose really the 'boss' - The American consumer. The time is now to boycott companies you discover have sent your calls to India without your knowledge! There should be legislation requiring companies to let you know that you are being transferred off-shore. So cancel your Old Navy credit cards and don't renew Allstate's Auto Club - 2 companies I've discovered that 'off-shored' me. Our money is our power.
Think I'm a liberal? Think again. America first!

Here in the U.S. we rake companies over the coals when they leak our private information. I'm worried about the leaks from overseas companies that we never hear about.

One more note... If having India outsource for Turbo Tax does not bother you think of how much personal information they have on not just you but your entire family....they now have you, your spouse and your childrens Social Security Information, birth dates, home address etc. Now theres a Family in India that is now a CLONE of your family..
P.S. Sleep Tight

Better India than giving our data to prison work programs like they used to!

Confusing as wrong word used in 3rd paragraph. "intimidate" don't you mean "intimate"?

TURBO TAX, DELL Computers, Lynksys Networking...are just a couple ofr U.S. companies that outsource to India. Maybe we should stop using their products. I'll never use those three companies again and when I find more Ill add them to my list of Do Not Use. When you call there customer support line they try and act like Americans buy using American sounding names like Bob, Mary, Susan and Jim....and when ask for there real name they give it to you....might be because there last name is BIN LADEN. And they know if they answered the phone "Thank you for calling Turbo Tax this Akbar Muhammed Patel how may I help you with your TAX Information" you would have a stroke.
After using TURBO TAX last year I now have found charges and purchases made in INDIA.....Hmmm wonder how that happened since INDIA has all my PERSONAL INFORMATION.
I also noticed that INDIA INDIANS are buying up Subway sandwich shops....and they are wearing fake Name Badges with Bob, Mary, and Susan names on them.
Last time you needed to wear you real name on an employee name badge.

This is a surprise? Most corporations who are doing the outsourcing don't understand the legal issues.

It all maps to authority, because responsibility without authority maps directly to nothing--and, this is where one completes the mapping by observing that authority gains its true value when it is made accountable. Stated in a simpler way, it is all a matter of consequences--and, the governing rule for data is inversely proportional (like magnetism), in that the greater the distance from you to your data, the fewer consequences exist for the companies and people who are trusted by you to manage and to protect your stuff.

When you dig into it deeply enough, it really is your stuff--and, other people get it only because you let them. If you want your stuff sent all over the planet where virtually anyone can look at it, then fabulous for you!

The problem, of course, is that nobody really makes it abundantly clear where all your stuff is going--unless you ask all the annoying questions (some of which nobody actually is required to answer in any timely way). Additionally, reading the fine print of contracts and asking very specific questions are activities which are generally discouraged by the people who devise the fine print and do not want to answer your specific questions.

The primary strategy used to discourage you from reading, studying, and questioning is to respond to it as if you were trying to pay for five grocery carts of individual pieces of bubble gum with pennies at the fast check-out lane. Reading the fine print, studying the rules, and asking annoying questions soon leads you to be moved into the queue labeled "NOT FROM THIS PLANET!"

For sure! What could possibly be better than having your doctor's notes transcribed by someone for whom English is a second or third language! Fabulous!

Why bother your local radiologist with having to examine x-rays? She has better things to do with her time than to look at your stuff, especially when someone on the other side of the planet who has watched a 30-minute training cartoon can do a pretty good interpretation most of the time!

When you think about it, all the information is there in the database. So, all you need to do is to discover where the database might be!

Over the long run, does it really matter so much that everyone on the planet has full access to all your stuff?

When you think about it, do you really use all your stuff so much?

No!

Who cares?

If mishandling your stuff causes a problem for you--well, look at it from a business perspective. There are 6.5 billion people on the planet, and you are only one of them. Sure! Mistakes happen, but who cares about 15 percent of a nano-population (once you do a bit of simple arithmetic)?

Your stuff simply does not matter in the grand scheme of everything beginning the instant it leaves your full and complete control. Whether it ever leaves your full and complete control is your decision, ultimately, no matter what anyone else tells you.

It's like most other issues of privacy...if you refuse to allow your information to be processed wherever the company wants (including overseas) you can't get service at all. Basically, consumers are between a rock and a hard place. That is why many say they don't care where information is processed. Also, some privacy policies are like 'small print'. Too small and too long and convoluted. Also, the consumer can't disagree/disallow parts; it's all or nothing!

As an ethnic Indian who has lived in many countries, I can vouch that Indians turn out to be one of the most concientious, hard working, ethical workers in the world, by far!! Their socio-cultural make up does not support petty greed and blackmail, as suggested. Also, they are not stealing anybody's jobs today, they are just agents in a larger macro economic game of supply & demand. There is a demand for lower cost labor from US companies that seek to please shareholders with positive returns, and India happens to provide the supply of highly motivated, educated, empowered labor. Simple economics. Nothing more, nothing less. Misplaced, jingoistic sentiments were never known to make Wall St happy; so why blame the Indians who are service providers?

Costs drive business decisions to outsource data processing.

At a minimum, US law should force companies to disclose data outsourcing practices so consumers can make informed decisions.

American companies would be wise to advertise that they process consumer data on American soil with data protection policies and standards. They could follow the manufacturing lead of "Made in the USA" with "Your data processed in the USA."

Stereotypes of a culture aren't indicators of data protection practices. There has to be enforced consequences for negligent exposure of personal sensitive data.

www.IdTheftAwareness.com