But what many people don't know is that the voice on the other end of the phone may not have called by chance. A mountain of information available to data warehouses is already supplying marketing companies with details of income, spending habits and the lifestyles of thousands of Australians. Together, they hope to build a warehouse with information on up to 15 million Australians. Sean Murphy reports.
Information is the currency of the future.
A whole range of information is being put together and no-one's sure who has access to it. It's amazing how far Australia is behind other developed nations in terms of privacy legislation. In an age where personal information is capital, big business is now cashing in on the personal details most Australians have long believed are private. The nation's richest man intends to mine a golden seam of information on the lifestyles and finances of virtually every Australian household. This information is actually worth hundreds of millions of dollars because it's information that's used again and again.