Sears Accused of Second Privacy Error

Retail giant Sears Roebuck has been forced to disable part of its web site ManageMyHome.com because of complaints that customers were able to access each other's personal data.

One of the site's users has filed a lawsuit, alleging that it was possible for fraudsters to access a customer's purchase history by typing in the customer name, address and phone number. The lawsuit seeks up to $5 million in damages.

'Hackers can systematically access this data for much more insidious purposes,' the lawsuit states. 'They can use the data to commit fraud by, for example, sending e-mails or making phone calls purporting to be from Sears.'

The news came just days after the firm was accused of distributing comScore 'spyware' tracking all Internet usage without users' consent (www.mrweb.com/drno/news7757.htm ).

Sears has responded by turning off the feature which enables viewing of a customer's purchase history, on its ManageMyHome.com site, and says this will remain switched off until it has implemented a validation process that will restrict access by unauthorised third parties.

'The purchase history functionality was added to provide our customers with easy access to useful information about products they have purchased from Sears. Customers told us that it is helpful for working with the other tools and information available on the site,' a representative from Sears explained in a statement.

Sears is not the first major firm to be accused of misjudging the balance between privacy, convenience and commercial advantage in tracking web visits. In November, 20,000 Facebook users signed a 'Facebook, stop invading my privacy!' petition, protesting against the site's Beacon advertising system, which alerted members of friends' transactions at online shopping sites (www.mrweb.com/drno/news7643.htm ).

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.

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