The privacy of Rewards member e-mail addresses? (Revisited)

[ron_newman]

On April 23, someone posted a link to a public Brierley.com website where anyone could look up any Borders Rewards member by Rewards card number, e-mail address, or phone number (last 7 digits only

Comments

[rufinia]

Ron, member locked means a) a LOT of people will not see this post at all (there are a number of people who are not LJ members who use this) and b) means the ones who ARE LJ members can't answer anonymously, and even with the company going down, is still the safest bet.

[ron_newman]

OK, I'll unlock it, though I'm still concerned about lots more people finding that page as a result.

[rufinia]

Knowing AA as I do (since I've, you know, actually worked at Borders, which I don't believe you can say), the site was probably never taken down. They didn't take it down when the whistle was blown in the first place, and BR is effectively done, completely, at end of business today anyway, hence the inability to modify anything.

If you're really concerned, remove the obvious search terms.

[ron_newman]

Modifying a record was disabled when I looked at it last week. (I had intended to post this then, but LJ was globally hosed for days)

The main reason I posted this here was to hopefully embarrass someone into taking the thing down again. The comments to the April post suggest that it was taken down shortly after that post.

[anonymous]

This site was made inaccessible, somehow, shortly after the initial post. I can't begin to comprehend why it's open to the web again. It's too bad the ability to modify an account is disabled because I would be sure to remove my own e-mail address!

Rufinia -- I don't think that just because the BR+ discount ends on August 5th that the BR database will just be trashed. The information could still be sold -- nothing in the privacy policy explicitly prohibited Borders from one day selling or transferring customer information to another party.

[ron_newman]

The customer information will be sold. See this motion. Hopefully to another bookseller rather than to a gang of spammers, but who knows?

[anonymous]

Taking a quick wade through that document, it looks like the sale covers "intellectual property," including the website, etc. I see they've requested a "consumer privacy ombudsman" -- perhaps that officer will keep Pidgie Scoot's name from being sold to Nigerian Princes In Exile, LLC

[anonymous]

Privacy? Schmivacy!

[anonymous]

867-5309 is the phone number of Pidgie Scoot. aescott@somethingorother.net

and Jimmy Cliff and Spaceman Spliff. abe vigoda Autumn Beaver.

This info will sell for big money at the data-miners auction.

thank you!

[anonymous]

Thank you for the information! You've performed a great function. -Google

[anonymous]

Bad, very bad. You knew, of course, that Borders' only value was from its database, which they promised to "keep secure." That's the only good to anybody this moaning corpse of a company was. Privacy? On the internet?
Really? Who knew?

[anonymous]

Oh, and also the value from it's magnificently glorious website!

That "Website"

[anonymous]

It's hilarious that they announce Borders stores are closing but Borders.com is "open". Except all sales are final, lots of items are out "out of stock" and back ordered, and many items are no longer discounted.

Re: That "Website"

[anonymous]

As it has been since Day 1, dot.com orders are being filled by Ingram. It used to be Baker and Taylor and Ingram. However B&T cut them off when they stopped paying bills. Ingram ships because Borders paid their bills so they would have at least one ongoing source of supply.

"Out of stock" means either Ingram is temporarily out of it or doesn't carry it.