Privacy & How to Obtain it in the Digital Age

" In the News...."

This is the age of information. Do yourself a BIG favor and read this page. DO you CARE about your PRIVACY?

"What used to take weeks to compile on a subject can now be achomplished in less than 15 minutes." Advances in computer technology have made it possible for detailed information about people to be compiled and shared more easily and cheaply than ever. That's probably good for society as a whole making it far easier for the law to track down criminals, for banks to prevent fraud, and for consumers to make better-informed decisions. At the same time, as personal information becomes more accessible, all of us should take precautions to protect against the misuse of that information.

Until 1971, the Social Security card actually carried a warning against using the number for identification purposes. When the Federal government started issuing Social Security cards five decades ago, some people worried the Social Security number would evolve into an all-purpose, no - privacy national identification system. They were right!
These days, the number tracks everything from college students to video-store customers, and it's virtually impossible to get by without one. Still, many Americans resist it, believing the number has the power to unlock personal information. Privacy experts say people are right to guard their Social Security numbers, but they also warn that keeping the number secret is no guarantee of privacy.

MANY AMERICANS BELIEVE it's illegal to use the Social Security number as an I.D. It's an understandable misconception; up until 1971, the Social Security card actually came with a printed warning against using the number for identification purposes. But that was never more than a suggestion, and one the U.S. government itself has rarely followed.

It may be old news to you that your privacy is for sale. But let's look into just how much information is available.

What's available?:

• Your Social Security number
• Your banking information
• Your known aliases
• Your drivers license number and state of issue
• Your current address
• Your previous address(es) going back 30 years
• Your unlisted phone number
• Your pager or beeper number
• Your cell phone number
• Your spouse's (or ex-spouse's) name
• Your current neighbors, their addresses, and phone numbers
• Your date of birth
• Your educational history
• Your real estate or other property titled in your name
• Your credit report
• Your bankruptcies
• Your tax liens, judgments, or notice of defaults filed against you
• Your driving history and citation records
• A list of outstanding warrants and/or criminal charges or judgments brought against you
• Detailed telephone records, including who called you and whom you called
• 

• To try to sell you other products.
• To sell it to third-party company's
• To swap it out with another company's database.

One of the nation's largest banks only 3 short years ago sold their customers personal account information to a telemarketing company for over 4 million dollars plus further commission on whatever sales were generated from that database! The information sold consisted of:

• name
• address
• telephone numbers
• gender
• marital status
• home ownership status
• occupation
• checking account number
• credit card numbers Social Security number
• birth date, account open date, average account balance, account frequency information
• credit limit
• credit insurance status
• year to date finance charges
• automated transactions authorized
• number of credit cards and type
• cash advance amounts
• behavior score
• bankruptcy score
• date of last payments
• amount of last payment
• date of last statement
• statement balance

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  So what can you do about it?

  • Get a voice-mail-only phone number. The number doesn't ring anywhere. When people call this number, they will receive a voice-mail message that you record. They will simply think you are out or on another call. You can pick up these messages just as you would any other voice-mail box. Give this "public" number out to everyone who is not part of your family or close personal friend. This way you will never have to listen to telemarketing calls in the middle of dinner or anytime at all!
    
  • At the very least, get a P.O. Box. Better yet, get a private mail box like those provided by Mailboxes, Etc. Both will keep your physical address private, but a private mail box will also allow you to receive UPS shipments. If you can get away with it, an extra precaution is to not even give the Post Office or Mailbox your real address! This will cost you, depending on where you live, about 80$ a year, well worth it. It will provide you with not simply an alternative place to receive mail, but an alternative that looks like a street address. This is also Great information for you if you have an abusive ex-spouse, (been there, done that!) etc... By using a private mail box, identity thieves will not be able to steal your mail and then steal your identity. In addition, stalkers, private investigators, and others will not be able to do a "reverse lookup" and find your real residential address. I truly do know what I am writing about here.
    
  • You're not going to like this one - Don't use Banks. Use cash for everything. (Yep, sad and not handy but it's the ONLY way to be protected.)
  • Love this one: List your number in the name of an alias. This one is even better than the other option, and it's free! Here's how it works. You call your phone company. You tell the customer service rep that you want to list your name in the name of an alias. This is done all the time to accommodate celebrities, politicians, and other public figures. List it in your dogs name if you feel like it! :}
    
  • Open a new account in the name of an alias. One of the cardinal rules of maximum privacy is to never never EVER associate your real name with your real address. You can use your real name and your public (non-residential) address. Or you can use your alias with your real address (e.g., to have pizza delivered to your home). But never use both together. If you do, your cover is blown, and someone can easily pick up your trail and find you.
    Since you have to give the phone company your real address, you can't give them your real name. The problem is that they will typically ask for your Social Security number in order to check your credit history. This is NOT a legitimate request, and it won't help you if you don't want to give them your real name. Besides, your SSN isn't supposed to have to be given out to ANYONE but maybe the IRS, right!? The two pieces of information must be related. You may be able to get around this by offering to prepay your bill; or just don't have a landline phone. Use a pre-paid mobile phone or a _______fone.

  50 years ago when the Federal government started issuing Social Security cards some people worried the Social Security number would evolve into a national identification system. Well, it would certainly appear they were correct! These days, your SSN is attached to practically everything; from every credit card you have to your cable bill and it's becoming nearly impossible to function in our society without one; certainly really un-handy. AND your SSN does make it really easy to gather your personal information, but guarding your number is certainly no guarantee of your privacy as you can see from the list above. The big worry is that the SSN cross-references all kinds of personal data from financial records to medical histories; and it does.

  Under current law, consumers (YOU) bear most (all) of the responsibility for keeping personal information private....

   

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