PC Rental Companies Spied on Customers in Their Homes and Captured Consumers’ Private E-mails, Bank Account Information, Medical Records and Social Security Numbers

Rented Computers Captured Customers Having Sex, F.T.C. Says

September 26, 2012

NY Times - If you rented a computer, you probably should not have been blogging without your shirt on.

On Tuesday, seven computer rental companies agreed to a settlement with the federal government after it was discovered that they were unlawfully capturing photos of customers by using illicit software that controlled a computer’s webcam.

The Federal Trade Commission said the seven companies involved had worked with DesignerWare, a Pennsylvania-based software maker, to create a program that secretly captured “webcam pictures of children, partially undressed individuals, and intimate activities at home.” This included people who while engaging in sexual activities in their homes were being recorded on their rental computers.

The webcam software, called PC Rental Agent, had been installed on approximately 420,000 computers worldwide, according to the F.T.C., and as of August 2011 it was being used by approximately 1,617 rent-to-own stores in the United States, Canada and Australia.

In a news release issued by the F.T.C., Jon Leibowitz, the agency’s chairman, said the software had also captured consumers’ private e-mails, bank account information and medical records. In some instances the software was able to capture Social Security numbers, medical records and doctor’s names. Most disturbing, the webcam captured pictures of children.

The reality that nearly half a million people were so intensely spied upon without their knowledge highlighted what some say is a need for more oversight by government officials for people who do not own their own computers. Lisa Madigan, the Illinois attorney general, said:

“There is no justification for spying on customers. These tactics are offensive invasions of personal privacy.”

The settlement agreed upon by the F.T.C. will ban the rent-to-own companies from using monitoring software of any kind and prohibit the companies from tracking a user’s location without that person’s knowledge or consent. All of the stores involved are also prohibited from using any of the information collected from the computers to collect outstanding debts. The companies will also be monitored by the F.T.C. for the next 20 years.

The companies involved in the settlement include: Aspen Way Enterprises; the Watershed Development Corporation, which operates under the names Watershed and Aaron’s Sales & Lease Ownership; Showplace Rent-to-Own; J.A.G. Rents, operating under the name ColorTyme; B. Stamper Enterprises, which operated under the name Premier Rental Purchase; and C.A.L.M. Ventures, which also operates under the public name Premier Rental Purchase.

PC Rental Companies Spied on Customers in Their Homes

September 26, 2012

TG Daily - Seven rent-to-own companies and a software developer have settled federal charges that they spied on customers, including watching them having sex. The companies captured screenshots of confidential and personal information, logged keystrokes and took webcam pictures of people in their homes. Their aim was to track the computers belonging to cUstomers who were behind with their payments.

"An agreement to rent a computer doesn’t give a company license to access consumers’ private emails, bank account information, and medical records, or, even worse, webcam photos of people in the privacy of their own homes," says FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz. "The FTC orders today will put an end to their cyber spying."

Developer DesignerWare produced the software that was used to gather the information, PC Rental Agent. The package included a 'kill switch' designed to disable a computer of it was stolen, or if payments weren't made.

However, an add-on program called Detective Mode could log key strokes, capture screen shots and take photographs using a computer’s webcam, says the FTC in its complaint.

It also presented a fake software program registration screen that tricked consumers into providing their personal contact information.

The snaffled data included user names and passwords for email accounts, social media websites and financial institutions; Social Security numbers; medical records; private emails to doctors; bank and credit card statements; and webcam pictures of children, partially undressed people and sexual activity.

The rent-to-own companies are Aspen Way Enterprises, Watershed Development, Showplace, JAG Rents, Red Zone, B Stamper Enterprises and CALM Ventures. They've got off lightly, agreeing to stop using the data-collection software and to stop deceiving customers.

It's not the first time that a rental company has come under fire for using PC Rental Agent in this way. Last year, a Wyoming couple sued rental company Aaron's after discovering that their PC had been taking webcam pictures of them at home.