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Data Protection “Tip of the Month - November 2008”
Do you really need my National Insurance Number?
A substantial number of persons are being asked to divulge their National Insurance Board (NIB) Number often to business and other persons with no clear need for that information. The Data Protection Commissioner is of the view that the NIB number should not be used as a general identifier and organizations should restrict their collection, use and disclosure to legitimate purposes.
Most people prefer not to provide their NIB number but may be concerned about the consequences of refusing. Providing your NIB number indiscriminately makes you more vulnerable to identity theft and this provides a good reason to exercise care in this regard.
There is no good reason why your cable TV or cell phone carriers, utilities and retailers should require your NIB number. You should therefore, question all such requests and give out this prime identifier only if you are comfortable that the information will not be abused.
I suggest that no private sector organization request a National Insurance Number from a customer and that no customer give the NIB number to a private sector organization, unless the organization is required by law to request it. The major exception to this general rule is the financial institution that may arguably need this information to satisfy their “know your customer” obligation. However, when banks or other credit-granting institutions need to confirm your identity for the purposes of running a credit check on a loan applicant, it is acceptable to ask for the NIB number as one among several identification options, but it should not be required as a condition for granting credit.
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