I had a very interesting package waiting for me this week when I returned to the Bam Creative offices, after my recent leave.
An anonymous package containing the entire client list for a competing Perth web company. No note, no handwriting, just a typewritten address on the front of the envelope, mailed form the city, to make it harder to trace.
It contains the company name, primary contact name and phone, their postal address and email address for every client (I’m assuming) of a competitor.
I did what most people I would hope would do; I called the victim company, and let them know what had happened. I haven’t read it, nor will I be using it for any gain of my own.
Meanwhile, I also mentioned this on Twitter. Following that mention, I had five other Perth based web companies let me know that they had also received the same package. They all mentioned they had shredded it, or returned it to the victim company.
Now, I’m going to go out on a limb here, and assume someone is wanting us to use the information to hurt this other company. This is sad and frightening on a number of levels.
Firstly, they believe some of the recipients would actually use this data. I don’t believe they are giving us the credit we deserve – we’re an ethical bunch here, and not interested in mining other companies contact lists to approach their clients.
Secondly, if it is an existing or former employee, what are the chances, if they get found out, that they’ll ever land another job in the industry here? Imagine if you knew they did this at their last place of employ – what’s stopping them from doing it again, this time to you?
Thirdly – the damage of having client contacts details revealed like this is possibly an area the Privacy Act would also cover. Even unwittingly, the victim company could get into trouble over this behaviour.
My twitter buddy, Steven Clark, has written a blog post about this experience over on his blog – I recommend you check it out.
If you were the person who sent this to me, as well as at least five other companies, then shame on you. I’d hate for you to be the owner of a business, and have this happen to yourself. I’m assuming you no longer work there, but if you do, then my advice is to find a new job. Thanks but no thanks; we’re not playing your unethical game.
Entrepreneur, 
11 January 2011 at 6:51 pm
That’s very sad to hear. I hope they get caught, and get sent to jail. Let’s just hope everyone he/she sends it to also has high morals like you.
11 January 2011 at 11:55 pm
Miles, I applaud you sir!
12 January 2011 at 3:12 am
Miles, I think you live in a dream world if you believe people won’t use this data.
Of course people are going to use this information. Heck, I would if I got it, as Im sure my competitors would use data about our client list. Just because you feel uncomfortable with it, doesn’t mean that it is illegal for you to at least place some calls to these people and let them know about your services.
It’s not like you asked for it – think of it as a gift if you will, a late Christmas present.
The moral high ground won’t help you win business. Hard cold sales do that for you.
Let’s see if you publish this comment, har har.
12 January 2011 at 7:45 am
Well done Miles on your openess, honesty and integrity.
I am a bit concerned about Not Telling’s point of view. They are right, business is about sales but in the long term not just the short term. And using ‘stolen’ data is just a short term solution and a successful business can not be built on short term solutions.
As a customer, I would never use a service of a company who uses ‘stolen’ data to the benefit of themselves and the detriment of others.
12 January 2011 at 7:52 am
Not Telling – you are kidding, right? If you aren’t, then you are one of the reasons that the web industry will get a reputation of a pack of vultures, rather than a bunch of ethical businesses all carving their own niche out by using their skills, not their sales BS.
Go back to selling mobile phones or door-to-door and let us build good businesses.
12 January 2011 at 8:01 am
A very interesting situation, Miles. While this would be by no means limited to the web industry, do you feel that we might be more prone to it because the industry is relatively unregulated? Does the perception that there are still a lot of web cowboys out there – the kind that wear black hats – who might be willing to take advantage of this kind of unethical behaviour, make it more likely to happen?
12 January 2011 at 9:06 am
If not telling felt so comfortable that using this information was OK, why not give us a real name?
12 January 2011 at 10:40 am
Not Telling, if you behave in the way you suggest, you might get some good results over the short term — maybe a few big bonus cheques for bringing in new business — but when you get caught (and sooner or later, you will get caught), your reputation and earning capacity are going to be shot to hell. It might not be illegal, but it is certainly unethical and, believe it or not, ethics in business do matter.
12 January 2011 at 2:21 pm
The moral high ground can, and does, win people business. At the end of the day it provides a unique selling proposition, a distinctive competence that differentiates the agency from the 90% rabble / cowboys of the industry that focus on lowest common denominator sales. The 10% or so of the web industry that advocate standards and industry best practice behaviour are, by implicit association, providing something other than the cowboys can offer a customer.
After all, if you can’t be trusted with a competitor’s data, how can you be trusted with your own client’s industry data?
12 January 2011 at 3:55 pm
Miles, I applaud your decision and agree whole heartedly with your ethical response. I’ve been in this industry along time and have come across industry cowboys who would have no issue using this information as a short term gain. I have no doubt that Not Telling is indeed one of these cowboys!
12 January 2011 at 4:50 pm
Miles, we received the same package too last week, so you can make that six companies in Perth. After reading this post, I just shredded it – I planned to anyway, but your blog reminded me. Peter.
12 January 2011 at 6:22 pm
@Travis – I didn’t steal it, so I don’t get your argument.
@John Faulds – I’m not stupid. I know many people say different in public to what you do in private; I’m just being honest here, but not going to put my business into the spotlight thanks.
@CP – I’ve been in business for more than 8 years, and I’m still doing well.
Anyway, the point wasn’t to start a debate with you lot getting on your high horses. I’m just pointing out the reality of what most business people would actually do in the same situation.
12 January 2011 at 8:00 pm
Sorry Miles
NOT TELLING
If you are unethical you do not last very long as people get to know you are the correct people to deal with and who are the dip shits that rip you of any way they can…..they don’t last very long and usually end up with visitations from the boys in blue an interesting link you put in for your website …………hasbro games ……….what a looser haven’t got the balls to stand up and show who you are.
I hope the person that sent out the list to the different companies gets busted and also gets a visit from the boys in blue cause what he/she has done in VERY illegal and does carry prison terms in the punishment if a judge thinks that it is appropriate
People in business prefer to do business with people that have strong business ethics and it takes a long time to build a reputation for good business ethics and a VERY short time to loose it
12 January 2011 at 8:11 pm
Thanks to everyone for your input. It is refreshing to see that the comments are mostly positive against using this situation to their advantage.
To ‘Not Telling’, I’m not sure who you are, and your email is bouncing, but I do value your honesty too, although I disagree with your perspective on the situation.
To answer Ricky, yes, perhaps the industry is still unregulated, and young in a way, but we should also note we’ve been around for more than a decade, and I honestly believe the intentions of the vast majority of web business owners is good.
This is an interesting conversation that’s very timely; I’ve been speaking to a couple of local web company MD’s about having a roundtable regarding ethics and the opportunity for some form of ‘code of conduct’ – maybe it’s time to get that conversation happening sooner rather than later.
Keep up the opinions folks; it’s gratifying to see, and thanks for those who made a point of thanking me, although I didn’t write this post to get any back patting, it is still well received. 🙂
13 January 2011 at 5:59 am
Larger organisations find ethics training to be indispensible… partly to put everyone on the same page but also because it makes a statement “this is how we do business here in 2011”.
In such courses you look at the same problems using Utilitarian Analysis, Kantian Analysis, Rights Analysis & Justice Analysis. This allows you to pull apart issues and make a decision about an “ethical dilemma” (meaning no-win situation). This is an invaluable investment in your workforce, too.
13 January 2011 at 6:09 am
Not Telling… if the message you send your workforce is that the ends justifies the means that’s your choice. I am happy to see you are still doing well after 8 years in business, too.
However, I notice you are Not Telling… and that in itself should tell you something about your business & the culture in your workforce. If it’s OK for you to act unethically as long as you aren’t caught then in your world it’s fine for your accountant to steal $40K & run or your employees to send out parcels with your client database. Can’t have it both ways.
13 January 2011 at 1:12 pm
Hi Miles. We received the same package and also rang through to let the company know what had happened. I’d be more than disappointed if it happened to us. We got the impression that several companies had done the same when we rang through.
Having a client list however is interesting but I dont think its devaststing to a company. You would still need to do all the hard yards to get a client across. The fact is everyone is someones client whether it be from the mystery list or not. I’m sure you can identify most clients of a company by searching for the footer links in google or using some hosting lookup sites.
Still. I hope they locate the culprit as they’re not going to be thought of well by any future employer if he/she is routed.
Dale
GTP iCommerce
14 January 2011 at 8:42 am
This is a really interesting scenario, and for the firm concerned they probably have a pretty good idea who will have done this to them – which makes it a stupid act for the individual concerned.
The wider question this poses is ethics around copyright, who owns information and an ignorance for the law – just because it is possible to do something doesn’t make it legal eg copying music. And in the case of this individual, they have left themselves open to be pursued for damages. It is plausible for one of the many businesses that the list was sent to to consider cherry picking the list and making a couple of calls off it. Nice to see that so many choose the right course of action and don’t.
Justin
Emergination
14 January 2011 at 12:25 pm
I’ve received the same package as well but it’s of little use to my business as my customers come to us and not the other way round.
This company must have really pissed of this person for them to do this. Also, this company, like a couple of others in Perth, are aggressive with their cold callings and have stepped on a few toes as a result (cold calling web companies to see if they need website done, etc). So no sympathy from me. I guess just like the poster of the document, karma have and will come full circle.
So who wants my copy lol.
28 January 2011 at 4:48 am
Miles, I agree with your point of view completely. In an ideal world all companies would work in this manner. Unfortunately the ‘real’ world often falls short of that.
And yes, if the person that sent this information ever gets found out they will be finished in this industry, and quite probably in any other industries where they could be placed in a similar position.
Would you even buy a used car from them?
28 January 2011 at 11:04 am
Absolutely unethical way adopted by the employee to sabotage the identity of a company. The employee should have looked for a different job if he wasn’t happy with the company.
These kind of employee behaviors are of great concern for mid size firms. On the brighter side these things also help us to be more alert and come up with ways to tackle these kind of situations in future.
28 January 2011 at 5:07 pm
Hello Miles
I reciprocate your views, but i think challenges are increasing in controlling such a behavior of the employees, However this is also true, There is no client who not happy with a company and still sticking with them. So our bond with our client is also important, the key is to maintain personal relations with clients and to prove dependable partner with them, Client understand. I am also fighting an unsatisfactory mood in my organization, but i am enjoying to see, and prepared to learn a lesson.
Bye
Vikram
30 January 2011 at 4:52 am
I heard of a little country in the Middle East, named Israel, where they send candidates to special institutes to avoid hiring such treacherous employees. In those institutes they pass skill and personality tests. The tests include math, language, tree drawing, sentence completion, writing essays about pictures of violins, and more.
Those tests may diagnose potential damage to organisations caused by hiring such candidates.
1 February 2011 at 9:18 pm
@Resident Mockery
Not a good example to use if you want to talk about ethics. Israel is in breach of more UN resolutions than any other country in the world. It oppresses/starves its native inhabitants and only last year attacked an aid convoy in international waters, murdering unarmed civilians trying to get food and medicine to people in the world’s largest prison, Gaza. Why even bring them up on a forum like this?
8 February 2011 at 8:32 pm
I’m not too sure how comments about Israel are meant to add value or meaningful discussion to this post, so as a heads up, I won’t be approving any other comments about anything even vaguely off-topic on this post or others. Thanks for staying on-topic folks.
23 March 2011 at 8:36 am
Hi Miles,
I am Head Teacher of IT at Nepean TAFE near Penrith in NSW. I would like to use this scenario for my IT students. Are you OK with that? I will be placing on the wiki so you will know what is being done.
Thanks