Increasingly, social media, lenders, and even retailers are obtaining cell phone numbers as a way to track individual consumers. A 10-digit cell phone number is becoming a number, like a social security number, that stays with you for life.

Unlike a social security number, however, there are no federal or state privacy laws preventing its dissemination. So the numbers are disseminated; used by companies to track consumers' conduct such as what shows we watch, what products we purchase, and even what sites we visit on the Internet.

Particularly for Millennials, there are two sets of numbers that follow them through their lives: their cell phone number and their social security number. Most Millennials have never set-up and maintained a land-line telephone account.

The combination of a cell phone number and name is more valuable to marketers than a social security number. This is because cell phones are now connected to so many databases and because individuals almost always have their cell phone with them; in their hands and operational.

Just as with your social security number, cell phone numbers are increasingly used to facilitate identity theft. On the other hand, your cell number is also used for fraud prevention. Many banks are using customers' cell phones to text a security code when the customer needs to change their password. Also, some credit card companies and other payment services such as PayPal are using cell phones to text temporary PINs to digitally confirm the purchaser's identity and prevent fraud.

Some customers are downloading innovative apps on their cell phones that all the company to track all of their daily activity: web sites visited, calls made, contacts stored etc, in order to assess them as a credit risk and potentially extend a loan. Not conventional, but convenient. For someone with a poor credit rating, they forego privacy for the convenience of a small loan.

Take care when providing your cell phone number to a company. When you do, you give up a significant slice of your privacy.

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The Michigan House of Representatives introduced a trio of bills which will require judgments of divorce, orders of filiation (between non-married parents) and child support orders, to omit parents' personal information.

Note: a parent's name and address are deemed outside the scope of the phrase "personal identifying information", as that term would be used in the legislation. Personal information is defined as: telephone number, driver license or state personal identification card number, Social Security number, place of employment, employee identification number, employer or taxpayer identification number, government passport number, health insurance identification number, mother's maiden name, demand deposit account number, savings account number, financial transaction device account number or the person's account password, stock or other security certificate or account number credit card number, vital record, or medical records or information.

These bills continue the Legislature's efforts to combat identity theft. Several years ago, social security numbers (once routinely included in a variety of support-related orders and divorce decrees) were precluded from being submitted to family court, even where a form or order contained a field for the information. Now, only the last four-digits are used, as it is a misdemeanor to include a person's social security number on a public document. The bills also come on the heals of the passage of the Identity Theft Protection Act in 2004.

The new privacy legislation, introduced to the House in April, was recently considered by the House Judiciary Committee at a meeting on Wednesday, June 3, 2009.

Family law attorneys are becoming increasingly sophisticated and creative in drafting family court orders in such a fashion that avoids telling the public too much about their clients. If you have additional questions on this or other family law topics that may affect your case, feel free to give us a call to discuss your situation.