News roundup--Royal Mail licenses eBay data

Royal Mail is licensing eBay data giving marketers access to more than 140 million transactions through the auction site. The file, refreshed monthly, is anonymous and aggregated to a postcode level; it provides purchase history, type of products bought, and levels of spend—effectively enabling marketers to determine which UK postcodes are most likely to be most receptive to their products or services.

Argos is putting its customers at risk of fraud, reports PC Pro. According to the article, the general merchandiser is sending sensitive information such as credit-card details—including the three-digit security code—in unencrypted emails. This means that “anyone intercepting or gaining access to the order confirmations would have all the details necessary to steal someone's credit card”.