The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act prohibits a financial institution from disclosing the account numbers of its customers or consumers for marketing purposes. The Act prohibits the disclosure of an account number for an individual's credit card account, deposit account, or "transaction account" to nonaffiliated third parties for use in telemarketing, direct mail marketing, or marketing through electronic mail. A "transaction account" is any account to which a third party may initiate a charge.

Encrypted Information

The Act permits the disclosure of an account number to a third party if the number is encrypted and the third party has no means to decrypt it.

Waiver of the Prohibition and the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information Rule

The Act's prohibition against the disclosure of account numbers may not be waived. Therefore, a financial institution may not disclose the account number of a consumer or customer even if he has consented to such disclosure or he has failed to opt out of disclosures of nonpublic personal information pursuant to the Privacy of Consumer Financial Information Rule. The Rule's processing and administering exception and preventing fraud and legal compliance exception do not apply to the Act's prohibition against the disclosure of account numbers.

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