privacy plan. While privacy tolerance is a very private
issue, a compromise plan needs to be developed for your
household or office. This book is great privacy primer,
I would have given it five stars, but I had problems
with the emphasis on getting a lock box mailing address.
The author did not emphasize enough the need to
maintain that alternative address for a long time after
you move to another location. Change of address notices
only last six months and need to be renewed for several
years. I know when I got my post office box the mail
from the prior box users continued to be delivered
including what appeared to be preapproved credit card
notices. This minor flaw was out weighed by the quality
and volume of information on protecting your privacy.


Good, Practical Advice on Preventing Personal Fraud   December 29, 2001
 8 out of 8 found this review helpful

Author Michael Hyatt is a best- selling author and speaker who wrote this book to advise individuals on ways to protect themselves in today's digital age. He feels that we need to be aware of the everyday dangers to our personal privacy, and that we should not take this issue lightly.

Hyatt begins the book by discussing the supposed "threat" that exists today, from corporations, individuals, and the government. According to Hyatt, there are threats to your privacy that are all around you, and some are not so obvious to the naked eye. Most of us are aware of some of the threats, like government surveillance and Social Security number theft. But other privacy threats are not quite so obvious, like the threat imposed by using supermarket credit cards. Through the use of these cards, the store is able to keep tabs on all sorts of personal data, which is often more information than many people would want them to have.

In the second and third parts of the book, Hyatt talks about specific strategies to use, to minimize the problems that are caused by invasions of privacy. He recommends, for instance, using a P.O. Box, whenever practical, instead of your home address, to avoid letting others know exactly where you live. He also recommends not carrying your Social Security Card in your wallet, and getting your Social Security number removed from your driver's license and other forms of ID, to reduce the chances of identity theft.

Hyatt wraps of the book with several appendices that are meant to assist the individual in assessing his/her privacy knowledge and risk. There's a privacy self assessment test; a privacy checklist; privacy resource list; family privacy policy; and a public servant questionnaire.

Hyatt seems a little obsessed with his concerns about privacy, and many readers might think he borders on being paranoid. Are we really in this much danger, to justify taking all these measures to protect our privacy? Personally, I think Hyatt goes a bit overboard on a few occassions (like when he recommends not using cordless phones, because someone could be listening in) but I must admit that I did take his advice by removing my Social Security Card from my wallet. I don't carry it with me anymore.

Overall, this is a pretty good book. It's a quick read, and it does give some sound advice on how to protect yourself in the information age. I wouldn't necessarily take everything Hyatt recommends to heart, but I think that some of his recommendations are worth listening to. It's better to be safe, than sorry.


Excellent Privacy Primer   December 11, 2001
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Michael Hyatt's book is a very comprehensive book on privacy. Privacy is an issue of great variance of importance to people. Some people are very private and some do not seem to care at all about their privacy. This range of concern is based on two factors. One is trust, if you trust who you give your information to and truse those organizations that use this information for various purposes you have a very high tolerance on privacy. The second is experience in events of privacy abuse, if you have never had your credit card number or identity used, or been stalked, you again will have a very high privacy tolerance. The strength of this book is that approaches privacy in degrees of the privacy you want to attain. The book has very current information and is supported by an even more up to date website. The book seems to lack much original thought or direction, but I think that is caused by the author offering such a wide range of resources to meet the wide range of privacy desired by the reader. The information of the book is well summarized and referenced into a series of "Practical Privacy Tips" lists and another "Complete Privacy Checklist" in the appendix. This book is a little shallow in technical areas, but that is because it is written for the general population. The reader with a high tech background will enjoy the range of choices provided. Another element of the book I enjoyed was the emphasis of having a family or business privacy plan. While privacy tolerance is a very private issue, a compromise plan needs to be developed for your household or office. This book is great privacy primer, I would have given it five stars, but I had problems with the emphasis on getting a lock box mailing address. The author did not emphasize enough the need to maintain that alternative address for a long time after you move to another location. Change of address notices only last six months and need to be renewed for several years. I know when I got my post office box the mail from the prior box users continued to be delivered including what appeared to be preapproved credit card notices. This minor flaw was out weighed by the quality and volume of information on protecting your privacy.


Insightful explanation, great advice and resources   November 4, 2001
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

Privacy has become an increasingly important issue for ordinary citizens who thought their personal and concealed. More and more, we've discovered that information we thought was confidential is, in fact, public knowledge . . . or nearly so.

The question for us now is how to protect ourselves from the snoops-the marketers, bill collectors, stalkers, criminals, and so many others that shouldn't really know so much about us. Personal security is a major concern today, so this book is certainly timely. Hyatt reveals how much information about us is available for instant public access or can be uncovered with a little legal (or illicit) research.

Shortly after reading in Invasion of Privacy that I should never give out my Social Security number, I looked into buying a car for my daughter. When the salesman and I came to the question of financing, he sat down at a computer terminal and asked for . . . you guessed it: my Social Security number. After enjoying a good laugh, I asked him why he needed it. His reply: so he could check on what kind of interest rate I could get for the credit. He tapped a few keys and instantly knew my credit rating . . . and a lot more information that I didn't think was any of his business. Real life evidence about what this book reports.

And the book is filled with much more evidence of identity theft, credit card misuse, and how stalkers learn about their victims. And that's just scratching the surface! Reading Hyatt's information-packed book, you'll first learn about the threat. You can evaluate your own vulnerability using the self-assessment in the first of five appendices. With this knowledge in-hand, you have to decide what to do about your privacy. How important is your privacy to you? After learning about corporate spies, predators, and government surveillance, you'll read chapters that will help you determine your preferred level of privacy and security.

The rest of the book describes in fine how-to detail what countermeasures are available to you. Hyatt covers Computers and the Internet, Banking and Finances, Your Physical Address and Mail Privacy, Medical Records, Identification Documents, and Telephone and Fax. You'll be amazed at your exposure and how you can overcome that openness.

You may find yourself wanting even more resources after reading all the information and references in the main text of the book. A Comprehensive Privacy Resource List shows up as Appendix C. When you complete this book, you will feel considerably more aware of your circumstances. You'll know the secrets, so you will understand your vulnerability and what you can do to protect yourself. This topic is amazing as you dig into it, which Invasion of Privacy will help you do.