Retailers retaining too much info?

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b_sinning

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Nov 22, 2004
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Savannah, GA
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I stopped to grab gas on the way to work this morning and was just going to pay at the pump. It wouldn't let me pump unless I put in my zip code. WTF? Retailers are getting out of control with the personal inofrmation they collect.

Like Radio Shack always wanting your phone number and name to buy anything in there. Radio Shack isn't calling me at home why do they need my info?

My wife went to return something to Target last week and when she got there she couldn't find the recipt. They said that was fine and just give them the info on the card she bought it with. She did and they pulled up everything she ever purchased at Target with that card. Do they really need that info? They have systems in place to track their inventory so they aren't using that info to help reorder stuff.

Or my local grocery store now has it where you can scan in your finger print and bank info and just pay using your finger print from then on and you get the prefered costumer discounts with out giving them a tag on your keychain. Which they use to track what you buy.

It just seems that people are starting to get tracked way too much. Especially now that all retailers are making it almost easier to pay with plastic instead of cash. With horrible things like the Patriot Act out there it's very easy to see the government to begin to abuse the collection of all this info.

William Gibson's book Idoru had a character Colin Laney that specialized in looking at large amounts of data of this type and be able to tell very insightful info. Such as one characters fall into depression and a planned suicide atempt. I can very easily believe that it will be possible to do this for people with all this collected info being stored about what you buy, where you travel, health, and how much money you have. Is it really so hard to see a possible future with Big Brother in it?

I'm usually not a conspiracy type but sometimes it makes you begin to wonder if the other sheep realize what's going on or are they too busy watching the OC to care.

What do you guys think?
 
Some gas places use the zip code in lieu of your PIN for some reason now. The zip seems like it would be a helluva lot easier to get...

And I do my best to prevent retailers from getting info out of me. If they ask for my zipcode, I give 23456. If they ask for my number, I tell em its unlisted. I NEVER take the surveys people in malls or amusement parks offer. I don't like that shit AT ALL.
 
b_sinning said:
I usually don't but I worry more about the information they take without telling me.
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Beside the crossreferencing that goes on there isnt much information that they didnt have before. When in public you have no reasonable expectation of privacy. Cash is your friend ^__^

The fact that fewer and fewer corporations control all these places you buy things from is more worrisome.
 
The crucial thing you're all missing is that they're asking for the info. It's not required. Nine times out of ten when some cash register slave asks for my zip code or phone number I just say no. This can slow down the transaction with the stupider ones, but most of the time they just put in all zeros or something and send me on my way.
 
The ZIP code is the most standard way to verify that a card is being used in a likely place. I think most gas stations typically just submit their zipcode with the transaction. However, in the high travel season, it is probably beneficial to get the card holders zip, so that there are less refused transactions.
 
I knew Chikken was down with the fear of Big Brother. He is already living at a future Cult compund. Notice how anything that doesn't fit within the system or people trying to remove themself from the system earn labels such as cults?
 
itburnswhenipee said:
The crucial thing you're all missing is that they're asking for the info. It's not required. Nine times out of ten when some cash register slave asks for my zip code or phone number I just say no. This can slow down the transaction with the stupider ones, but most of the time they just put in all zeros or something and send me on my way.
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Sometimes it is required...or at least a lot harder not to give. Example:

Just last Monday I was out to lunch with my boss and we stopped at Circuit City on the way back to the office. He was going to buy 2 LCD monitors for his new home PC (here's the one he picked).

Anyways, to get the rebate form which prints out of the register he had to give his full address and phone number which the register then used to automatically fill out his rebate slip. If he gave false info his rebate form would be useless...and this was for 2 rebates worth 100 bucks each. Maybe he could have asked and they would have printed a blank form but the cashier was not leading us to believe that was the case.

That aside, on another note if you have ~$500 to spend on an LCD monitor this is the one to get, it is nothing short of amazing how clear and bright it is compared to the others I have seen on the market. The XBrite technology works really well but sometimes the glossy screen catches glare from the lighting in a room.
 
b_sinning said:
I knew Chikken was down with the fear of Big Brother. He is already living at a future Cult compund. Notice how anything that doesn't fit within the system or people trying to remove themself from the system earn labels such as cults?
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As soon as I heard Chikken talk about off-grid living, I knew he was for me. :drool:
 
b_sinning said:
I knew Chikken was down with the fear of Big Brother. He is already living at a future Cult compund. Notice how anything that doesn't fit within the system or people trying to remove themself from the system earn labels such as cults?
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Isn't it great?

You can discredit any non-conforming organization or group of people merely by labeling them a cult.

Makes it a lot easier to blow it by the media and the public when you burn down their house or stomp on their cat after breaking down the door unannounced at 3AM if everyone thinks they were crazies.
 
I always give my zip code as 10019. That's Manhattan. And my phone number is always 214.555.5555

If they ask or challenge it I just say "Put it in." They're high school kids, what the hell do they care? Concerns like that are above their pay grade. They just want to get home and play video games or rub one out to online porn or something.

I agree though, it's always zip codes and phone numbers now. Asking for my SSN is absurd too. People who do that can blow me. My bank, for example, uses my SSN as my online banking username. That's nice. I want that floating around in cyberspace for any idiot to grab ahold of. 128 bit encryption you say? Good for you. Those systems are hacked daily. It's not exactly a fortress of security. Gimme 512 bit and we'll talk.
 
Sarcasmo said:
Asking for my SSN is absurd too. People who do that can blow me. My bank, for example, uses my SSN as my online banking username. That's nice. I want that floating around in cyberspace for any idiot to grab ahold of. 128 bit encryption you say? Good for you. Those systems are hacked daily. It's not exactly a fortress of security. Gimme 512 bit and we'll talk.
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That's why you apply for another one and use that instead of your original++
 
Anyone see that movie "The Net" with Sandra Bullock? Don't. It's horrible and she's a moron. That's all I have to say about that.
 
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