I recieved an email from a company I don’t do business with. They had the please erase this email when done because it’s privilaged and confidential message. Some places think those magic words will give them protection against unauthorized people using information.
I sent the following.
Please stop sending emails to my account.
If the information is privilaged or confidential, try treating it as such, and don’t email it out unless encrypted.
I get annoyed by people who post from work to public email lists and have that kind of nonsense attached. It becomes quite pointless as a substitute for security, and just means that email administrators are covering their backs.
The reply was that the email didn’t contain privilaged or confidential material, which I already knew. I just wanted theml to admit that the email was a bunch of advertising crap, which they also did.
Well, this is a little different from telling someone to erase the message, but professionally I have to have a warning on my e-mail stating that e-mail isn’t private or secure, that I can’t guarantee its confidentiality, and that folks should phone me if they wish to use a more secure medium. It’s in my signature line, which means that it’s on all of my outgoing correspondence. I sometimes get teased about this, but I’d rather be teased by a friend than not have the notice on an e-mail that goes to a client.
My interpretation of HIPAA compliance includes not only using passworded e-mail, but the computer, too. Will this provide confidentiality? No, but it demonstrates my intent, and reminds the user that this isn’t a secure medium.
The law now requires people to stop sending to your email account when requested and a valid address or link to request same. Only the scammer’s can be a problem. After the passage of this law thge world’s top three spammers went down. Number 1 man was prosecuted. Number 2 lady announed she couldn’t make a profit sending out her legitamit advertising, so she was quiting. Number 3 threatened some people with death, and is not a worry, unless the prison gives him internet access.
The federal laws on gambling have just been tinkered with to fix the problem that allowed gambling over the internet in states that choose not to have it. It is now illegal for online gamblers in the USA to transfer money electronicly to gamble. The change is about 2 weeks old.