Use of an Alias or Desk Name at work for security?

[Michael_Newman]

I work in an office that handles confidential credit reports containing personal identification records. The company has chosen to have their staff use desk names or an alias for the following reasons:

1. To prevent abusive invasion of the personal lives of employees outside the office, such as when our name and telephone numbers are listed in the phone books, or the information is available through other public sources. It is also used to prevent the caller from becoming too personal with the employee;
   
2. To department-direct the incoming callbacks after we have left a specific message, such as "please call Charles regarding your application." In the event a caller contacts the office when I am unavailable, then anyone will have a heads up on the nature of the call without going into 20 questions. However, no one uses any other desk name they are not specifically assigned to. Its purpose is to expedite a speedy response by directing a desk name to the proper department;
   
3. Different desk names are assigned to me for: Accounting; Applications; Receptionist Call Backs; and Consultant.
   
4. Individual Desk Names are retired if the employee leaves the firm. If a caller contacts the office later, then he/she is directed to someone else in that department that can aid them;
   
5. Desk Names are posted on the bulletin board and are registered with the company's corporate office in case an employee using their desk name oversteps their authority.
   [/list=1]

1. 
   
   Are the use of desk names legal?
   
   If so, under what circumstances and within what bounds?
   
   ----------
   
   Should the desk names also be registered with any government agency?
   
   Thanks,
   
   Michael

 

[brian]

Are you a collections agency? I think they may be forbidden in that industry from using them.

 

[Michael_Newman]

Originally posted by brian:
Are you a collections agency? I think they may be forbidden in that industry from using them.

No, we are not a collection agency. And our business is not regulated by any state or federal licensing bureau.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Originally posted by Michael Newman:
No, we are not a collection agency. And our business is not regulated by any state or federal licensing bureau.

I just skimmed this area quickly and didn't find any laws that prohibit this conduct except in areas of collections and enforcement and require registration -- but that doesn't mean, of course, that they don't exist.

While this does have it's positive aspects I can see this being difficult to manage administratively with some negative results if there is even the slightest breakdown of the system. Curious to know as to what happens if a caller calls the same person thinking it is two different desk names....

 

[Michael_Newman]

Our office represents several clients and we never mix the same desk name with another client or another phone line. However, we do use two names for each client at times (one is for returning messages and the other is for actually handling an incoming file call). We have found by using a wireless telephone headset that the tone of the voice never leads the caller to put the same voice with two desk names. And I say "never" because it has never happened in ten years.

But thanks for your reply. I didn't think there was a law, but our office still registers the names and takes every precaution.

As far as administering the names, it has been a rather easy task (except when calling for delivered pizza )