You might have noticed recent news reports about how a US court forced Google first to block an innocent user’s private e-mail account, then reveal that person’s identity – all because a careless bank employee accidentally e-mailed sensitive data to that Gmail account.

This case certainly demonstrates why anyone who values their privacy would be better off keeping their e-mail on offshore e-mail servers. Here at The Q Wealth Report, for a limited time we are offering a free offshore e-mail account on an encrypted server to all our subscribers. Details of how to claim yours are below.

Let’s look a little more about how overseas or offshore e-mail can protect your online privacy. Maybe you are concerned about the privacy of your financial communications with your offshore bank. More likely, you simply value your freedom too much and don’t want Big Brother looking over your shoulder.

I don’t have much confidence in the US court system, but even I was amazed to read about this severe intrusion on a user’s privacy. Imagine the inconvenience of having your e-mail account blocked because just somebody sent you an e-mail my mistake – something you most likely deleted believing it to be spam. Well that’s exactly what happened.

News reports indicate that the court issued an order, insisting that Google block the e-mail account in question, then reveal whether the account was still active and whether the data in question had been viewed. And if the account was active, the order continued, Google was required to hand over the account holder’s identity and contact information.

Google, to their credit, did fight the case – but  lost. The plaintiffs, Rocky Mountain Bank (who were responsible for the error in the first place) even had the nerve to try to hush everything up: they filed a motion to seal the entire case on the grounds that if the information became public, “it would create panic and result in a surge of inquiries from customers.” Fortunately the court rejected this motion.

“The case underlines what should be obvious to Google watchers,” comments Cade Metz, writing in The Register. “Though the company vows to protect your personal data, it can be compelled by court order or subpoena or natural security letter to divulge such info. And then there’s the judge’s ill-advised decision to order the deactivation of a bystander’s email account.”

And therein lies the problem, to which offshore e-mail is the solution. For a limited time, we are offering a simple but effective free e-mail account to all subscribers. This e-mail account will be hosted on a fully encrypted offshore server, safely outside your home country’s jurisdiction (though no-one would routinely notice that, as it’s hosted on a .com domain). You can connect to it via an SSL encrypted connection. The account is yours absolutely free and without obligation while you remain a subscriber. If you are not yet a subscriber, simply sign up now.

Please email our contact office in London to get your free secure e-mail account set up. In your e-mail be sure to state your preferred user name (this will become your secure e-mail address) and an initial password. As soon as the account is set up, you will be able to log in to the control panel and change your password.

It’s worth pointing out the difference between this account and your regular free e-mail account. The main difference is that this account is accessible not only via SSL encrypted webmail, but also by secure IMAP and POP. You can also send messages from your favorite e-mail software without revealing the IP address you are connected from.

Shortly, our colleagues will be offering a suite of premium communication services, such as encrypted Voice over IP (VOIP) or the possibility to host your own domain on our offshore secure servers.You will also have a chance to go ” Beyond Encryption” with a secure USB advice that routes your communications entirely via a private, encrypted offshore server. For more on this, watch this space.

If you would like to read more about IT privacy and security, we also recommend our Secure Communications page.

Related posts:

1. Two Invaluable PT Communication Tools