posted
Your phone rings, and you don’t want to answer it. You let the machine pick it up, and, sure enough, it’s a telemarketer, touting his wares, unsolicited, to you. Where did he get your number?
Your bank.
Your P.O. Box is full of junk mail. The postmaster leaves you a note that you need to come to empty it more often and to pick up . You come in daily. Where did the junk mail mongers get your address?
The school you registered your child at. Your grocery store where you felt obligated to get a preferred shopper card, so that you could save a little money. A periodical that you subscribed to. That contest you entered six years ago on a whim. Your phone company. Your creditors. We all know this problem, all of us have experienced it at one time or another. It’s the reason we are now obligated to own a shredder, to cut up, unsolicited, pre-approved credit cards. We are obligated to write letters to our school district, and banking institutions telling them that it is not, in fact, alright to share our personal information. Another personal time and public resource waste. And why do we waste our time shredding and writing letters: Identity Theft.
What happened? Why did we let our privacy erode? Our privacy eroded in small ways, small bits at a time. The so called “Family Education Rights and Privacy Act” was a farce from the Fed, and a good example of this. It turned the obligation on its head. The default state of permission to release your information became: we will release your information unless you tell us otherwise. This does not seem right. No one should be able to release your information without first asking you if you want it released. Too bad if it costs the banks money to send out this request: It’s your private information. And don’t let them tell you different: The cost will not even come close to breaking them. They say that if they could not exchange information so freely, then it would slow down the process for loan application. Wouldn’t they just require a waver on the loan application to allow them to get the information that they needed? And how hard is it for your financial institution to contact you to ask you if it’s okay?
California lawmakers finally passed a bill to protect you from the financial institutions’ rampant trading on your information, which was signed into law on August 27, 2003. However, a provision in Federal law that preempts states from passing their own laws in such regard. This ban will expire January 1st, 2004, but already the financial industry is gearing up to continue it.
But this is your information. You do not get paid, as they do, for trading it. Are they paying for your time at the shredder? Is your time important to you?
We all should shake off our lethargy on this issue. It starts in small ways, but in the end becomes something bigger than all of us, touching our lives in ways yet to be imagined.
[ August 28, 2003, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: Erik Slaine ]
Posts: 1843 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I avoid getting those preferred shopper cards, even though they save money, for exactly this reason. And I also avoid entering contests, for the most part.
I was still the victim of identity theft, though, and I suspect it happened through the human resourse office of the hospital I work at, because it happened right after I was employed there, and the information the thief had was information on my paycheck direct deposit request.
I am interested to know, Erik, what you think we can or should do to fight the degrading of our privacy. One thing that my husband and I do is refuse to provide our social security numbers in cases where it is being used for identification, and is clearly not necessary - for example, our Jewish day school contract.
posted
I have found it to be a constant battle to protect your identity. And I do this with good reason: I used to be a skiptracer.
You wouldn't believe the things that I used to get out of your creditors (I assume that you must have at least one connection to the financial world). With three pieces of "vital statistics" information--sometimes not even three--you can get address histories, collection accounts, relatives and payment histories.
And that information need not include your Social Security Number. Name, address (any past or present address), and phone number (again, any past or present phone number) is usually enough. If that's not good enough, the three credit reporting agencies licensed by the government (Equifax, Experion, and Trans Union) provide account numbers on their credit reports.
The internet makes this problem worse. Private information firms are out their right now providing vital statistics information to anyone willing to pay for them.
To protect yourself: Question every attempt to sell your information. Read the fine print. Let them know that you do not agree to have your name and address distributed. They send you a letter each and every year, and you must respond, or they start selling.
And even then, some still slips through the cracks. It is time for some serious legislation!
Posts: 1843 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
You can look up someone's address just by having their phone number. Using mapquest, you can then get a map to their house, and even driving directions! I find this scary.
Recently, I was at my grandmother's house. She told me of someone who had called her and asked her if she would like bank account number protected. He mentioned that in order to fully safeguard her bank account number, she'd need to give it to him right then over the phone! She politely declined and hung up. If it had been me, I would've chewed him out!!!
posted
Oh, yes. Good point Equality 7-2521. (I loved Anthem too, by the way. And the Rush song of the same name concerning it...).
Such a search is known in the trade as a reverse listing, and the info is provided by your phone company.
Posts: 1843 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I also hate the stores that ask you for your phone number/zipcode right before they ring up your purchase. I've gotten quite a few funny looks over it: "May I have your phone number please?" "No."
I have managed to get all of my grocery cards by providing only my first initial and last name (although those are no longer accurate now that I'm married).
Something to always remember: you don't have to fill out everything that is asked for on forms. If it's information you don't think they need - don't fill it in. If they come back and ask for it, ask why they think they need it. Often times, you'll just get a blank look.
posted
Been reading David Brin Adam613? Earth, of course, (among other things) examines that very issue. Brin has been getting notice about it in interviews recently.
posted
If anything, I hate Junk-Mail, and how impossible it can sometimes be to block it.
quote:The fact is that there isn't a lot you can do about your privacy anymore. Now that computers are becomming more ubiquitous and less secure, anyone who tries hard enough can find out just about anything they want to know about anyone.
You're definately right about that Adam. I'll just have to deal with it. Still though, there are plenty of good tips in this thread to help fight against identity theft. Good stuff.
Posts: 149 | Registered: Aug 2003
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Don't buy anything over the phone. Don't buy anything from adds you get in the mail. Throw all the junk mail out.
What is causing all these banks and schools and other institutes to sell our information is the idea that some ad company can target us for a client type.
Prove that this irritating marketing strategy doesn't work and is no longer profitable for your bank or your school or your grocer, and they will quit doing it.
One final note on how much you can tell about a company from their marketing startegy:
World Com lost a major lawsuit a few years ago fro deceptive practices. The company I worked for was "Slammed" three times by them. That is when they call and get what they consider a verbal commitment to switch our long distance service. What they got was the phrase, "yes" coming from whoever answered the phone. They then recorded this yes and said it was us agreeing to switch to a much more expensive long distance plan. ("Hello sir." Hello. "Are you busy now?" Yes. "Would you like to save money on your long distance plan." I don't handle that. "I will call back later then." The Yes in the middle was grounds for thousands of dollars in billings.)
MCI Swore that this was not a corporate strategy, but the work of a few rogue salesmen. They were the #2 long distance carrier, greatly above board.
Someone asked me to invest in them. I said no. THey would be crashing.
Thier lies and greed are causing them to crash even now.
And Celtic Flame, the reason I wanted to start this topic was to inform others. I am gratified if anyone learned anything from this.
Posts: 1843 | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
You know, I never buy anything from stuff I get in the mail (not that I get much junk mail, I've been pretty good about getting rid of most of it) or on the internet (have never bought anything online) or over the phone. I do have a grocery store discount card, but filled it out with phoney information (fake name and address. ) We used to get junk mail in my husbands name every once in a while, but when we moved, one of two things happened. When he got the phone moved, SWB asked him what my name was an he told them!!['i] The big dork, and the other thing was we filled out a change of address on which you had to list the names of the people whose mail you wanted forwarded. One of those two did it because since we've been here, I've gotten 4 pieces of mail with [i]my name and current address on them!! I'm thinking about moving again and changing my name. Stupid husband.
Posts: 9871 | Registered: Aug 2001
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posted
No! Never just throw junk mail away! Gather it up, carefully remove the parts that have identifying information on them, stuff them into all those prepaid business reply envelopes they send you, then mail them.
Then don't throw away the identifying information you removed without shredding, soaking, or burning it first.
Try never to do anything you wouldn't want everyone to know about.
One thing I am dismayed over...I have had a separate address (POBox) from my husband (residence) for several years, even though we live in the same house. When, due to disability, I applied for social security, medicare, medicaid and public assistance last year, I used my POBox address, and also gave them his name. All of a sudden, HE started receiving a multitude of credit card offers at MY mailbox, sometimes 4 or 5 a day! It is beyond me why the credit card companies target people who believe they qualify for food stamps. It is even worse that the county, state, and federal welfare agencies would sell their mailing lists, but that is the only way they could have gotten those two bits of information connected.
Posts: 1379 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
Here's something my wife and I do. When we get the two or three offers a day in the mail for a newer better credit card we fill the return envelope with coupons or registrations from other credit cards or even newspaper clippings. Send them back some Junk mail. Just make sure you remove ANY tags with your info on them, also look for those tricky bar codes which could reference your information. I just wish I could see the faces of the people when they open the return envelope and get an expired coupon for diapers or denture cream. HA
Posts: 172 | Registered: Jun 2003
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posted
I've always been a fan of giving false information for grocery cards. Of course, I still use my roommate's club card number when shopping at Safeway (though that is quite rare these days).
When signing up for stuff on websites, if I'm being prompted for an email address that I know I'm not going to get anything useful on (ie: adobe's website or realplayer), I like to give the email address of their webmaster, support, or Executive (if I can find their address). Yeah, I know they block it, but at least I'm not getting the stupid messages.
Has anyone ever tried to give a blatantly false phone number (ie: 555-1212) or something to that extent on a "loyalty" card.
Posts: 851 | Registered: Oct 2001
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posted
Another option is just to learn to live with letting people know all this crap about you. *shrug*
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
No problem! If someone were to steal my identity, my credit rating would probably improve.
I'd get a lot more money from insurance than my car's worth if somebody took it, too. It wouldn't bother me much unless I'd just filled the gas tank.
Posts: 1379 | Registered: Feb 2002
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posted
One way to lessen junk mail/telephone/etc solicitations would be to tax advertising, HEAVILY, instead of allowing the corps to write it off as a business expense. I'd suggest starting at a 200% tax rate: the ratio of advertising to Research&Development that the drug companies claim to be all R&D.
quote:Another option is just to learn to live with letting people know all this crap about you.
Of course, for some, that could get them killed. Tom, you just don't know the right kind of people. I thought you had a stalker. Didn't you? Was she a non-lethal type of stalker?
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Stupid husband.
