It cost pounds 140 to find out all about this man's life

THE Government and police are clamping down on detective agencies and credit-checking firms which buy and sell information gained illegally from computer databases.

On Friday Scotland Yard launched an investigation into a number of private detective agencies believed to have obtained information from the Police National Computer. And the Home Office is expected to announce new laws to punish agencies which use deception to get information from confidential computer files.

Private detectives now offer for sale a welter of confidential data, including medical and criminal records. I recently obtained a copy of a file prepared on me by a private investigation firm from the London area.

The firm, whose name we are withholding for legal reasons, had been given only my name and national insurance number and asked to trace me, give an employment history and bank details.

In less than seven days the company had rummaged through my life thoroughly. For pounds 140 it managed to supply my correct address, although I moved recently, and my previous address, even though I was not there long enough to be on the electoral roll. It supplied my ex-directory phone number and direct-line number at work.

The file contained my correct date of birth, even though my family celebrates my birthday nine days after the official date and many of my personal documents, including my driving licence, are marked with the wrong date.

A seven-year employment history traced my freelance career, giving precise dates worked, and payments from my current and most recent employers. These included the dates of individual days worked and how much tax I had paid. They also revealed how much I was owed at the time by the company (something I had been unable to find out) and the fact that a cheque was on its way to me. Also included was the name and branch of my bankers and my sort-code.

The most frightening thing about the level of detail in the file was that none of my friends or family was approached and none of my colleagues at work can remember answering any inquiries.

The managing director of one of London's larger detective agencies, who refused to be named, said yesterday: 'You can find out all kinds of information, if the price is right. You would be amazed what we can find out if we want to.'

A great deal of this information is gathered from computer records. The National Computer Council says that breaches of computer security systems pose major problems for companies.

The Data Protection Act makes it an offence to disclose personal data to any person not described in the user's register entry. But according to the Data Protection Registrar's office, it is difficult to gain enough evidence to bring a prosecution. The registrar suggested that perhaps the best way to tackle the market in personal information would be by 'directing attention to those who operate in this market'.

Last March, Lord Ferrers, the Home Office minister, said detective and investigation agencies are entitled to carry out such work as long as they remained within the law. He added that, while the Data Protection Act was considered an adequate safeguard, 'it is possible there is a small loophole whereby information is gained by deception'.

A working group from the the Home Office is now considering changes in the law on deception employed to get information from banks and other organisations. At present, credit-checking agencies and others can phone financial institutions including banks pretending to be account holders, building up enough detail over time to convince staff they are entitled to confidential details. Lord Ferrers said he would be seeking legislation to amend the law in such cases.

Despite these moves, police, government departments and computer co-ordinating bodies are concerned about illegal access to their systems.

The Benefits Agency, whose computer database will eventually combine with that of the Inland Revenue to hold the personal details of every adult in the country, has sacked at least three staff this year and introduced computerised checks on some inquiries. Anyone found inquiring into a file which is not part of their caseload can be dismissed.

The agency refuses to discuss internal security, but one employee said last week that colleagues would still sell details in return for cash: 'We've heard about the sackings. But I know there are still people here who would risk it for the extra money.'

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