Is Anyone Listening?

As a consumer, do you object to your conversations being recorded? These days, when someone makes a phone call to a business, that call is likely to be recorded.  The most common announcement to the caller goes something like this: “This call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance purposes”.  I’ve heard that notification so many times that it doesn’t even faze me any more.  In fact, I like it, because I often think that the person on the other line will probably be more friendly and HELPFUL than they would have been….if this call hadn’t been recorded.

But let’s not forget…the U.S. is a very litigious society and country, as a whole. Someone, somewhere is going to want to sue someone else — for recording a conversation that reveals private information, failing to notify that they are recording, or maybe for allowing that private information to get into the wrong hands.  I’m guessing it’s just a matter of time…

Federal Laws in the US, Canada and UK require that only one of the two parties on a telephone call has to know that the call is being recorded.  For instance, large companies must only notify their call center agents that the conversations are being recorded.  They have no obligation to let their callers (customers) know that their sensitive information is being recorded and saved.  That seems a little bit ridiculous, to me.  But there are 12 states that require two-party consent, which now levels the playing field for some of us, once again.

One major concern for customers is that the call center agents and independent third-party monitors can steal sensitive account, credit card, and password information.  Identity theft has become more prevalent than ever.  This tests our faith in a company’s ability to protect the customer’s private information.  It also boils down to the employees working for any given company.  How can we ensure that we hire people who are NOT motivated to steal customer information?  Do we look into our employees’ personal lives?  Indications of someone who may be inclined toward criminal activity? Drug and alcohol abuse, financial problems, domestic stress, and…who knows what else…can all influence an employee’s decision to misuse a customer’s private information.  As much as we’d like to, there is no surefire way to predict human behavior.