GameStop hit with lawsuit over privacy concerns

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Lawsuit claims the retailer illegally stores personal information acquired from credit cards

When you use a credit card at most large retail chains, the store keeps an encrypted copy of the card number, your name, and the original cash register receipt for its records. A new lawsuit in California, however, alleges that GameStop is sticking its hand too far into the personal data cookie jar.

Melissa Arechiga from Alameda County, California filed a lawsuit - which is seeking class-action status - against the retailer last week. She claims GameStop pulls in pretty much all the information it can from the credit card, including the customer's full home address, and then stores it in its internal database.

California law prohibits this conduct under section 1747.08 of its state Civil Code. The law says companies are not allowed to record personal identification information from someone's credit card without the cardholder's permission.

The suit claims, "Defendants' employee made no attempt to erase, strikeout, eliminate, or otherwise delete Plaintiff's personal identification information from the electronic cash register after the Plaintiff's credit card number was recorded."

Furthermore, "Such conduct is performed intentionally and without the knowledge or consent of the cardholder, and is of potentially great benefit to [GameStop]."

The suit seeks a ruling for all GameStop customers in California whose personal identification information was recorded after making a credit card purchase.

[Source: IGN]

Mar 1, 2011

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