CLARA THIS AFTERNOON. TWO CARS IN THE GARAGE WERE BURNED. >>> WHO SEES YOUR PAY STUB IN THE POI PAY DAY? YOURSELF, BOSS, AND DATA BROKER. >> THERE'S THE ISSUE, A PRIVATE DATA COMPANY GETTING TO SEE YOUR PAYCHECK, TOO. CHRIS CHMURA HAS BEEN ASKING. >> IT'S LIKELY SURPRISING AND NEW TO YOU BUT NOT TO THE EXECS IN YOUR COMPANY. ONLINE WE SHARE WHAT WE EAT, WHO WE LOVE, WHERE WE TRAVEL, NOT HOW MUCH WE MAKE. >> TALKING ABOUT ONE'S SALARY IS NOT COMMON PRACTICE, NEVER HAS BEEN. >> ETIQUETTE EXPERT SAYS IT'S PROPER TO KEEP YOUR PAYCHECK PRIVATE. >> SALARY IS BETWEEN YOU, YOUR BOSS AND YOUR FAMILY. PERIOD. >> WELL, NOT ANYMORE. >> IT'S MIND BLOWING AND PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA. >> THAT'S JOHN WEINBERG. >> A LAW PROFESSOR AT WAYNE STATE IN DETROIT. ONE OF THE THINGS I PAY ATTENTION TO IS PRIVACY IN DATABASES. >> WE DISCUSSED THE WORK NUMBER. COMPANY WITH PAYROLL RECORDS ON MORE THAN HALF THE WORK FORCE. WHERE DOES IT GET THE PAY STUBS? MORE THAN 2 MILLION EMPLOYERS HAND THEM OVER AS WAY TO OUTSOURCE THE HEADACHE OF VERIFYING EMPLOYMENT AND PAY. EQUIFAX OWNS THE WORK NUMBER, FOR $54.95 WILL VERIFY EMPLOYMENT AND PROVIDE WORK HISTORY. THE FAIR REPORTING ACT SAYS WHO IS AUTHORIZED. EQUIFAX SAYS IT'S ONLY VERIFIERS, LANDLORDS AND SUCH. BUT DEBT COLLECTORS CAN BUY A REPORT, TOO. >> EQUIFAX HAS NOT HISTORICALLY BEEN GOOD ABOUT DATA SECURITY, MAKING SURE ONLY THE PEOPLE SUPPOSED TO SEE THE INFORMATION SEE IT. >> THE FBI SAID CHINESE INTELLIGENCE BREACHED EQUIFAX IN 2017, COMPROMISED MORE THAN 150 MILLION AMERICAN'S CREDIT REPORTS. WE ASKED ABOUT THE WORK NUMBER SECURITY, DECLINED INTERVIEW BUT SAID IT TAKES DATA STEWARDSHIP SERIOUSLY AND RANDOM AUDITS WEED OUT PROBLEMS. WITH THE ELECTRONICFRONTEER FOUNDATION WHICH ADVOCATES FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES AND PRIVACY. HAS CONCERNS ABOUT EMPLOYERS FORKING OVER PRIVATE WORK DATA. >> DOING IT WITHOUT EMPLOYEE CONSENT, SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING. >> IN SAN FRANCISCO, TRUE WORK, SAYS THE USER CAN INSTANTLY ACCESS MORE THAN 35 MILLION WORKERS' PAYROLL DATA. THEY DID NOT RESPOND TO US. WHY ARE SO MANY COMPANIES SHARING THE INFO? WALMART EMPLOYS MORE PEOPLE THAN ANY OTHER COMPANY AND WEBSITE INDICATES IT USES THE WORK NUMBER. NO RESPONSE. THREE BIG BUSINESS LOBBYING GROUPS, NO RESPONSE. >> CALLS INTO QUESTION WHY THEY BELIEVED IT WAS GOOD IDEA OR IF THEY THOUGHT THROUGH IT. >> EQUIFAX SAYS THE 2 MILLION COMPANIES THAT SHARE IT WIN, SAVE THE MONEY BY OUTSOURCING AND EMPLOYEES WIN BY GETTING QUICKER LOAN DECISIONS. IS GETTING A DECISION A MINUTE, HOUR OR DAY FASTER THAN BEFORE WORTH HAVING ALL THIS PAYROLL INFORMATION STORED FOR WHO KNOWS HOW LONG IN ONE PLACE? >> AS PRIVACY ADVOCATE I WOULD SAY NO. >> OPTING OUT? SAID BOSS SHOULD LET YOU DECIDE. >> EMPLOYEES SHOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE THE INDIVIDUAL CHOICE. >> IF YOU ASK YOUR COMPANY TO LET YOU OPT OUT, LISA HAS ETIQUETTE FOR THE CONVERSATION. >> I WOULD BE UPFRONT AND FRANK WITH MY BOSS, I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE ABOUT THIS, COULD YOU REMOVE ME FROM THE LIST. >> YOU'RE NOT POWERFUL. YOU CAN SEE IF THEY HAVE YOUR DATA, READ THROUGH IT YOURSELF, CHECK FOR ERRORS, DISPUTE THEM AND EVEN LOCK DOWN YOUR DATA FROM THE WORK NUMBER WEBSITE. TO HELP YOU, WE MADE HOW-TO
