Malicious vs. Annoying Invasions of Privacy

Many companies invade your privacy in order to make new customers. This invasion is often just annoying and causes no loss of money or long-term damage. Think about all of the spam mail that you get or the phone calls at dinner time. This type of contact can be placed into two categories: unsolicited contact from individuals or companies with which you have a relationship and the same from those with which you don't have a relationship. In the case of the former, companies are taking advantage of their relationship with you to request other business. I'm sure you've received requests to buy insurance from your credit-card companies and frequent calls from cable and phone companies asking if you want to take advantage of a new special. In either case, it's an annoyance and it makes you think less of the company, sometimes to the point of terminating your relationship with them or never starting one. Don't drive away customers by engaging in these practices.

Malicious invasions of privacy occur when someone accesses your personal information to benefit from it through unethical or illegal means. Many companies make a business out of selling your contact information. Thousands of people have had their credit-card numbers stolen either for resale on a Web site or for use by the thief. Hopefully, your company is not directly involved in malicious invasions of privacy. You could, however, be encouraging it by not taking the necessary steps to protect your customer's sensitive information.

NOTE
I once took advantage of a great deal on color printer cartridges being sold on the Internet and saved lots of money. The next week someone in Korea had made several purchases by using my credit-card number. I've never been to Korea.