My handy rings: number unknown, but I decide to pick up anyway. “Is this mister Victor Roland?” O, no, not another one! I’ve actually heard enough already, but still I hang on for the next line: “We would like to offer you a special V.I.P. platinum super deluxe credit card! Highly exclusive with lots of benefits. And how about a really cheap loan of 40,000 dollars? You don’t have to do anything. It’s all been approved and arranged for you! Well, what do you think?”
At least once a day – no lie – I get a call from some provider or other. And this is leaving aside all the emails! For at least 20 years, the lack of privacy and protection of personal data has been a thorn in the side of every resident of Ecuador. Confidential information is literally out on the street here. Tax returns, UBOs of companies, each citizen’s spendings abroad… it’s all public! It’s all online without any logins or passwords and accessible by name. For you and me, but also for criminals.
How much income tax did someone pay in recent years? What companies are they investing in and how much corporate tax did they pay? Convenient information for crooks when planning an extortion or a kidnapping. As such, it is hardly surprising that many people are trying to stay under the radar and keep their wealth as private as possible.