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I've stopped giving my information to entities that don't need it. I use fake account information where it is legally permissible and the system is requiring s
by sathackr 10y ago
I've stopped giving my information to entities that don't need it.
I use fake account information where it is legally permissible and the system is requiring some input to proceed.
When I get asked for my phone number, zip code, email address's etc... At checkout in stores, I give a polite "no thank you". Which usually results in a huff and/or an eye roll from the cashier, as if I'm expected to give this info for the privilege of shopping there.
If the information sources dry up or are of sufficiently low quality, the market value is significantly reduced, as would be the incentive to collect and store such information.
- vijayr 10y agoThere is this big electronics store in NYC - I bought something small (batteries or something) and at the checkout, the cashier refused to bill me, unless I gave my phone number or email. When I asked why he needs that info his answer was "so we can verify when/if you return the product", and he had no answer when I said "that is what the bill is for, isn't it?". Unwilling to hold up the line, I left without purchasing anything. Point is, no one before me had issues with giving that info, no one bothered to ask. Unless many people start asking questions, nothing will change, and I don't think most people care. At the high school level, kids should be taught topics like privacy, civil rights etc - that might help at least a bit
- grecy 10y agoI'm living on the road now, and don't have a phone. I find it fascinating the reactions I get, and the people who refuse to help me with stuff when I say I don't have a phone, or a number I can be reached at. When push really, really comes to shove, I give them a number from somewhere I lived 10+ years ago.
- sn41 10y agoSlightly offtopic. But would love to hear more about the adjustments you have to make to live on the road. Are you self-employed?
- grecy 10y agoI saved like mad for 4 years, now driving around Africa for a couple of years. I did the same thing a few years ago, drove from Alaska to Argentina over 2 years. Best decisions I have ever made. I'm http://theroadchoseme.com http://theroadchoseme.com if you're interested in what I'm doing. Here are my thoughts on saving money: http://theroadchoseme.com/work-less-to-live-your-dreams http://theroadchoseme.com/work-less-to-live-your-dreams
- heartbreak 10y agoAnd here's your /r/DIY post, which was a very interesting read: https://www.reddit.com//r/DIY/comments/4m7do7/i_built_my_jeep_into_a_house_on_wheels_to_live_in/ https://www.reddit.com//r/DIY/comments/4m7do7/i_built_my_jee... Good luck!
- grecy 10y agoThanks. An update to that /r/DIY post is coming very soon :)
- gkanai 10y agoWhy not use a free Google Voice number?
- edoceo 10y agoSome people prefer !Google, so $1/mo is worth it
- seanp2k2 10y agoNerdVittles has info and a place to get you started if you want to get into free DIDs, trunking, gvoice voip stuff, etc. you can get numbers without google for free, you just need to dig a bit and learn some Asterisk or buy an ObiHai if you're lazy.
- tdfx 10y agoYou can rent a US number on Twilio for $1/month and use the free Twimlets service (https://www.twilio.com/labs/twimlets/voicemail https://www.twilio.com/labs/twimlets/voicemail) to have calls go straight to voicemail and email you a link to an mp3 of the voicemail message. This is typically the number I give out to any potentially annoying commercial entities.
- applecrazy 10y agoOr even better, get a Google Voice number. They're free for US calls.
- kevinmgranger 10y agoDoesn't google voice require an actual phone number to link it to?
- ed_balls 10y agoIt's much better if you isolate yourself than do nothing. https://www.troyhunt.com/going-dark-online-privacy-and-anonymity-for-normal-people/ https://www.troyhunt.com/going-dark-online-privacy-and-anony...
- ysavir 10y agoDoesn't this defeat the point? Sure, you're not giving your phone number to a random third party, but now you're giving a different ad agency (google) information about who's calling you. That actually sounds worse to me.
- briffle 10y agoIn all seriousness, I always give the local area code, and then the 'jenny' number 867-5309 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/867-5309/Jenny https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/867-5309/Jenny) Someone has ALWAYS registered it before me.. I have never had it not in the system..
- Balgair 10y agoWell, that's a lot better than my MO. I typically use (911) 911-9111 as the phone number for random sites. I figure that if you trust your automated system so much that you let it auto-dial without looking, you deserve to get chewed out by your local PD. But I like your idea a lot more and I'll start using that one to save the PD the time. Maybe it'll give people a smile when they finally look at the number and realize it.
- newman314 10y agoI use 555-1212 with the appropriate area code. This used to be directory lookup so I figured I could get some recursion going if they really wanted to contact me so badly.
- robryk 10y agoIsn't '555' the reserved phone number prefix to be used for phone numbers in the movies?
- dragonwriter 10y agoNot exactly. Only 555-01xx is reserved for fictional use. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_(telephone_number) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_(telephone_number)
- jrcii 10y agoB&H is supposed to let you checkout without providing that.
- freehunter 10y agoI had the same experience at Harbor Freight. They needed my zip code in case I needed to make a return. I said "that's what the receipt is for...?" and she persisted so I gave her the zip code for the part of town the store is in. Zip codes are often associated with social and economic status and Harbor Freight is in a really bad zip code. I wasn't about to tell everyone standing in line that I was getting in my $100k SUV and driving to my $500k home in the suburbs after they hear my zip code (none of that is true but that's what you'd expect from the city I live in compared to the city I was shopping in).
- ryandrake 10y agoHonest question: What could Joe Random, standing in line behind you wanting to buy his crescent wrench, possibly do with your zip code? I consider myself a privacy nut but zip code is not something I care to get bent out of shape over. Give a fake one and move on with your life.
- surge 10y agoFollow you to your car (because you're on the rich end of town), hit you with the crescent wrench, take your stuff.
- freehunter 10y agoYup. Expensive zip code means a car with expensive stuff inside of it, and a papers that show a house full of expensive stuff that has no one home right now (because the rich owner is out shopping).
- rimliu 10y agoHow would you know that this house is not full of family members of the owner? And has this scenario actually happen to anyone? Because I think burglars have better means to be sure which house and when to rob.
- 10y ago
- mirimir 10y agoI give them fake info, and pay cash.
- problems 10y agoI think a lot of people, myself included will just straight up lie, use bullshit accounts, give bullshit zip codes, etc. It's often times easier, gets less looks and gets the job done in a straight up utilitarian sense.
- codedokode 10y agoBut it can be used to persuade other customers to give out their personal information: "See, everybody before you said their phone number".
- codedokode 10y agoYou can give Lenny's number [1] - it's a bot that loves talking to telemarketers on the phone. [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/itslenny/ https://www.reddit.com/r/itslenny/
- wlll 10y agoI read about a guy who had a similar experience in (I think) RadioShack many years ago. The cashier asked for his address, and they guy questioned why it was needed, and would they be sending him junk mail? The cashier made an excuse for what it was needed for and said that "no, they wouldn't be using the address to send junk mail to". The customer wrote on the back of the cheque (I said it was a long time ago) a minimal contract that said something like "By accepting this cheque RadioShack agrees that they won't send any junk mail to the provided address, if any is sent a fee of $100 will be payable" (paraphrasing). RadioShack ultimately sent the guy junk mail, and the guy asked for his $100 which I think they ultimately gave him.
- vijayr 10y agoReminds me of this Russian man who changed the credit card contract - http://www.nasdaq.com/article/updated-russian-man-turns-tables-on-bank-changes-fine-print-in-credit-card-agreement-then-sues-now-settles-cm267708 http://www.nasdaq.com/article/updated-russian-man-turns-tabl...
- qubitcoder 10y agoWhen asked for such information at checkout, including if I have a <xyz> preferred shopper card, I've found that a quick & polite "no, thank you" is effective. It's clear to the sales clerk that I just want to be on my way--conveying that I do not wish to share such information, that I don't have a preferred shopper card, and, most importantly, that I don't want to hear their sales pitch. If required to provide a phone number, I just increment the last digit by 1. I feel for whoever has that number :-).
- steffan 10y agoThose of you familiar with this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WTdTwcmxyo may or may not know that it is pretty universally applicable as a phone lookup for most rewards cards. Just prefix with a popular area code, e.g. 415 (Bay Area) or 212 (NYC). Naturally, you won't get any of the rewards, but it does protect your privacy, and with some annoying retailers, still gets you the member discount.
- orbitingpluto 10y agoTo get a members' discount at a grocer, I once signed up as Mickey Mouse and put my address as Disneyland. "Thank you for shopping with <store>, Mister Mouse."
- M_Grey 10y agoTeaching kids about those things would make them less effective consumers, more effective voters, and much harder for parents to instill a given viewpoint in. Critical thinking isn't going to take off in a country dominated by people who profit from its absence.
- andrewSC 10y agoAs far as phone numbers go, a number of grocery stores and other chains (e.g. pet stores, etc.) offer discounts if you provide them with one. What I do is give them my google voice number (a service I don't use at all) instead. That way I'm able to recall the number but I'm not exposing anything personal and still reap the benefits of in-store discounts.
- YCode 10y agoJenny's number is usually already signed up, I just give them that plus the local area code.
- Avenger42 10y agoJenny's number crashed a self-checkout register at Home Depot when I tried that a couple of years ago.
- YCode 10y agoThat's funny; once I gave it to a local grocer and watched the cashier's eyes grow in astonishment. I asked if everything was okay and he said he'd never seen so many entries using the same phone number. Couldn't help but laugh when I realized he had no idea why so many people had used it.
- zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 10y ago> but I'm not exposing anything personal and still reap the benefits of in-store discounts. ... except you are. It's an identifier that allows separate transactions to be correlated.
- tclancy 10y ago>Which usually results in a huff and/or an eye roll from the cashier I never know whether to be sad or glad cashiers no longer catch on when I give my phone number as "[area code] 555-1212".
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- mrrsm 10y agoI think it probably comes down to them not caring rather than them not catching on. They are just following the prompts that pop up, it's not like they actually care about that info.
- problems 10y ago> When I get asked for my phone number, zip code, email address's etc... At checkout in stores, I give a polite "no thank you". Which usually results in a huff and/or an eye roll from the cashier, as if I'm expected to give this info for the privilege of shopping there. For the most part I don't even get the huff and eye roll anymore, they just hit cancel, input the store's postal code or something else and move on. Though I once had a cashier insist I give her my postal code after giving the polite no, she gave me some "I need it... for the system" or something. When I started giving an obviously fake one, I got the huff and eye roll. I wonder how many people would have caved. Hopefully just a new cashier who didn't know the appropriate thing to do in the case that I didn't want to provide details.
- tunap 10y agoI have found at places where cashiers are aggressive to get info a simple "negative" response shuts them down effectively. "No thanks" is always followed by more attempts. For groceries, I do want the discount so a pseudonym + city park address + state lottery hotline gives them a unique identity for metric analysis while sparing me the marketing harrasment.
- Balgair 10y agoI've never had a sale not be processed like that before, but I can see it happening these days. I typically put down 123 Fake St., (911) 911-9111 as the phone number (though now switching to 867-5309 as other commenters pointed out it gets the point across just as well without local PD having to waste time), and I try to inject as much random noise into the race/sex boxes as I can. I have heard that putting down the name of the company as your middle name helps out too, but I have not seen anything happen (maybe it works then). Does anyone else have any other ideas or tips for 'hacking' about in these systems?
- M_Grey 10y agoBit of free advice... learn an address and memorize it. Make it unrelated to your real life, and use that. It's easier because when automatic checks (or cashiers) get it, they don't say "Uhhhh... no." One address, with zip code.
- Balgair 10y agoAgain, what the OP says happened to him, has never happened to me nor anyone I have talked to. I would put this strat in the 'edge cases' category.
- M_Grey 10y agoSure, I can understand that, but my advice is still broadly useful. Increasingly the forms websites use to collect information do a spot-check on the address, or at least the zip code. It helps to have one in mind that you can quickly use, along with some dedicated webmail. If you also happen to be someone who struggles in the social arena, it's a way to avoid even the most unlikely of conflicts.
- Balgair 10y agoYou have a level of forethought that I do not share. Thanks for the tips all the same :)
- dopamean 10y ago> Which usually results in a huff and/or an eye roll from the cashier Why do so many people online seem to need to demonstrate that they are some how persecuted (even if in the slightest, most inconsequential way) for taking a particular stance on something. It happens in this way so frequently that I honestly don't believe it at all. For years I've been doing exactly what you describe -- saying, "no thank you" to data requests at checkout -- and I've never noticed anyone appear to care in the slightest. It doesn't make your story more believable or you more sympathetic nor does it make society looks any more crazy. It's just a weird detail that is probably not true and doesn't need to be included.
- sbarre 10y agoI will second OP's comment, because this does happen, so maybe ratchet down your rhetoric a bit.. When I politely refuse to give out my personal information when buying things, I regularly (but not always) either get a confused look, an annoyed look, or additional pressure to give the information (i.e. "oh it's just for warranty, everyone gives it").. Just because you've never had this happen to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen, or that OP is making it up.
- dopamean 10y agoBy saying it has never happened to me I perhaps communicated incorrectly that I think it never happens. That is certainly not the case. I guess what I take issue with is this idea that it "usually" happens. I do not believe that more often than not a someone in retail or the service industry rolls their eyes at a customer because they don't want to give up their email address. If that is really true then perhaps OP is less polite about his turn down than he says.
- sbarre 10y agoI would say that, anecdotally for myself, I get a "bad reaction" more often than "no reaction" when I refuse to give up PII to a cashier, and again speaking only for myself I am always polite about it (because I know they're just following the company policies). This may be because I know that at least some companies incentivize employees to capture this information, so when you refuse to give it up, they are in fact losing out on some kind of compensation or bonus..
- ensignavenger 10y agoI've never really thought of my phone number as private- they used to be published in phone directories, or via operator assistance. I suppose one may want to have a number, like Google Voice or similar service, that was 'unlisted' and you would only give it to a select group. The bigger concern for me is companies using the number to track me.
- joering2 10y agoI develop a trick where I would alter one letter in my last name and then keep a track which company got which alteration. It was funny experiment and I tell you boy Victoria Secret is not in business of selling lingerie - they are in business of selling your data! My wife wanted me to order something from them about year ago and I used my trick on them too. 3 months later all sort of companies start spamming my mailbox with all kind of stuff including Deer tractors (!!!) When I called to find out where they got my info from, they said they can't tell me because they cannot validate my identity as of if Im exact person who says I am. I even offer to send my ID via fax and eventually show up at their office and I was told "this is not how we work". The only thing they could do for me is to opt me out.
- username223 10y agoI take some small joy in using the shared 234-567-8901 account at Vons/Safeway, and sometimes even get a gas discount. I've also used my parents' long-disconnected land line number. If you dislike this kind of creepy surveillance, don't just block it -- poison the database.