7 ms·

I 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 pers

I 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 ago
Honest 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 ago
  Follow you to your car (because you're on the rich end of town), hit you with the crescent wrench, take your stuff.
  - freehunter 10y ago
    Yup. 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 ago
      How 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.
      - c22 10y ago
        Just get a job as a ticketing agent at the airport, you know when people are going on vacation, you know when they're coming back, and most of them show you a driver's license with their address on it when asked for ID.
    - cortesoft 10y ago
      Wouldn't it be easier (and less error prone) to just wait in the parking lot for a fancy car to pull in?
    - vkou 10y ago
      Why not just drive out to the expensive zip code, and rob the first house that looks empty? Why rob the guy who just bought a thing at the store you're at? What makes him a better target then his neighbor? Or any random house in the area? Who actually burgles when they know people are home? Are you really surrounded by thieves and killers, and the only thing keeping you safe is that they don't know that you live in a rich part of town? They know where the rich part of town is... Right?
      - kbenson 10y ago
        > Why not just drive out to the expensive zip code, and rob the first house that looks empty? Presumably because police presence is less, or at least busy, in the less expensive zip code. There isn't just more crime in less affluent areas, it's rampant! > Are you really surrounded by thieves and killers, and the only thing keeping you safe is that they don't know that you live in a rich part of town? According to the news, yes, but even that expensive part of town is just a "you won't believe where" teaser away from being right next to you! In all seriousness, as rational as you consider yourself, it's still an uphill battle against the signals we are bombarded with telling us about all the crime and suffering around us. Humans are great at finding and internalizing patterns from signals, and the pattern here isn't hard to see; the world is getting scarier and scarier every year. Doesn't matter if its true or not, that's still how it feels.
  - ryandrake 10y ago
    Pretty far fetched. And he doesn't need your zip code if they are intent on robbing you. I dunno--I shop at Harbor Freight in Hayward all the time and it's never once crossed my mind that anyone there is up to no good, or that anyone but the cashier cares about my zip code. Standard parking lot situational awareness that you'd apply anywhere will keep you from being robbed. EDIT: I applaud the general paranoia, but I think it's just misplaced. You have more to worry from HF aggregating your P.I. than some guy behind you buying tools for his third job.
    - et-al 10y ago
      To follow this thought, most people know just handful of zip codes (if even their own), so if you drop "94303" in front of me, dollar signs are not going to appear in my eyes because it's Palo Alto, CA (multi-million dollar tiny homes for those not in the Bay Area). Yes, nowadays people can type that into their phones and find the corresponding neighborhood, but really? Most criminals steal what they can see, not what they think might be there from a zipcode. They're better off just driving to a nice neighborhood and casing the houses whose owners are away. Of course maybe there are people following you around slowly acquiring your PII so they can steal your identity and drain your 401k.
      - seanp2k2 10y ago
        The best part about Palo Alto is how bad East Palo Alto is. It's like a joke on all the suckers who bought houses there.
  - WillyOnWheels 10y ago
    I find it easier to hang out under cars with a few syringes of infected blood and inject it into the ankles of passersby. Especially at malls.
  - sbov 10y ago
    As opposed to seeing your rich person car when they park in the same parking lot?
- smartbit 10y ago
  In the past I’d give our Personal Identifiable Information PII because it was not something I care to get bent out of shape over. Years later I discover to my dismay that I handed out that information voluntary, to my current standards I do consider it PII.
  - sbov 10y ago
    My first & last name is PII. There is no other person in the US with the same name, and potentially the world. It is handed out everytime I use my credit card.
    - bostand 10y ago
      Charge name to john smith?
bjt2n3904 10y ago
Psst. If you're worried about being followed in a bad part of town, I'd worry more about driving around an Escalade than giving out your zip code. Unless I'm getting trolled, in which case, excellent satire.
- freehunter 10y ago
  Escalades are not uncommon in a bad part of town, expensive cars in general are not uncommon. You'll see a Cadillac parked in front of a $35k house, and no one's going to rob them. You wouldn't walk into a store and shout out how much money you make, would you? Announcing your zip code is effectively the same thing.
  - cmdrfred 10y ago
    Auto loans are at record numbers currently, I know couples who pull down 25k above me and my wife that are "poorer" (renting, saving less) due to auto loans. People are nuts about cars.
    - seanp2k2 10y ago
      People in the US are nuts about spending in general. Wedding rings that cost 6 months salary, cars that cost a few years worth, houses which cost 20 years worth...
      - cmdrfred 10y ago
        Indeed, we bought a home due to the fact that the mortgage was less than rent for a low end apartment. We see it as a way to build net worth and reduce costs, we buy used cars, buy bulk household goods though Amazon. A lot of people have this impression that its impossible to live the life that our parents had today. I'm sure its impossible in the bay area or Manhattan but as a high school drop out who lives in one of the top 100 highest income counties in the US I assure you that a very good standard of living is possible here. The only debt we have is our mortgage.
  - 10y ago
annnnd 10y ago
This is why I don't usually withhold such information - I deliberately present invalid (but sane) data. if they care so much about market research, they should be prepared for some dirty data on the way. I value my privacy much higher than their business interests.
- pg_is_a_butt 10y ago
  90210
wlll 10y ago
This seems like an over reaction. Poor people aren't all after your money. This isn't Dickens.
longhust9x 10y ago
Hello,I am testing this app
- longhust9x 10y ago
  1
longhust9x 10y ago
Hello,I am testing this app

ryandrake 10y ago

Honest 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 ago
Follow you to your car (because you're on the rich end of town), hit you with the crescent wrench, take your stuff.
- freehunter 10y ago
  Yup. 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 ago
    How 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.
    - c22 10y ago
      Just get a job as a ticketing agent at the airport, you know when people are going on vacation, you know when they're coming back, and most of them show you a driver's license with their address on it when asked for ID.
  - cortesoft 10y ago
    Wouldn't it be easier (and less error prone) to just wait in the parking lot for a fancy car to pull in?
  - vkou 10y ago
    Why not just drive out to the expensive zip code, and rob the first house that looks empty? Why rob the guy who just bought a thing at the store you're at? What makes him a better target then his neighbor? Or any random house in the area? Who actually burgles when they know people are home? Are you really surrounded by thieves and killers, and the only thing keeping you safe is that they don't know that you live in a rich part of town? They know where the rich part of town is... Right?
    - kbenson 10y ago
      > Why not just drive out to the expensive zip code, and rob the first house that looks empty? Presumably because police presence is less, or at least busy, in the less expensive zip code. There isn't just more crime in less affluent areas, it's rampant! > Are you really surrounded by thieves and killers, and the only thing keeping you safe is that they don't know that you live in a rich part of town? According to the news, yes, but even that expensive part of town is just a "you won't believe where" teaser away from being right next to you! In all seriousness, as rational as you consider yourself, it's still an uphill battle against the signals we are bombarded with telling us about all the crime and suffering around us. Humans are great at finding and internalizing patterns from signals, and the pattern here isn't hard to see; the world is getting scarier and scarier every year. Doesn't matter if its true or not, that's still how it feels.
- ryandrake 10y ago
  Pretty far fetched. And he doesn't need your zip code if they are intent on robbing you. I dunno--I shop at Harbor Freight in Hayward all the time and it's never once crossed my mind that anyone there is up to no good, or that anyone but the cashier cares about my zip code. Standard parking lot situational awareness that you'd apply anywhere will keep you from being robbed. EDIT: I applaud the general paranoia, but I think it's just misplaced. You have more to worry from HF aggregating your P.I. than some guy behind you buying tools for his third job.
  - et-al 10y ago
    To follow this thought, most people know just handful of zip codes (if even their own), so if you drop "94303" in front of me, dollar signs are not going to appear in my eyes because it's Palo Alto, CA (multi-million dollar tiny homes for those not in the Bay Area). Yes, nowadays people can type that into their phones and find the corresponding neighborhood, but really? Most criminals steal what they can see, not what they think might be there from a zipcode. They're better off just driving to a nice neighborhood and casing the houses whose owners are away. Of course maybe there are people following you around slowly acquiring your PII so they can steal your identity and drain your 401k.
    - seanp2k2 10y ago
      The best part about Palo Alto is how bad East Palo Alto is. It's like a joke on all the suckers who bought houses there.
- WillyOnWheels 10y ago
  I find it easier to hang out under cars with a few syringes of infected blood and inject it into the ankles of passersby. Especially at malls.
- sbov 10y ago
  As opposed to seeing your rich person car when they park in the same parking lot?
smartbit 10y ago
In the past I’d give our Personal Identifiable Information PII because it was not something I care to get bent out of shape over. Years later I discover to my dismay that I handed out that information voluntary, to my current standards I do consider it PII.
- sbov 10y ago
  My first & last name is PII. There is no other person in the US with the same name, and potentially the world. It is handed out everytime I use my credit card.
  - bostand 10y ago
    Charge name to john smith?

bjt2n3904 10y ago

Psst. If you're worried about being followed in a bad part of town, I'd worry more about driving around an Escalade than giving out your zip code. Unless I'm getting trolled, in which case, excellent satire.

freehunter 10y ago
Escalades are not uncommon in a bad part of town, expensive cars in general are not uncommon. You'll see a Cadillac parked in front of a $35k house, and no one's going to rob them. You wouldn't walk into a store and shout out how much money you make, would you? Announcing your zip code is effectively the same thing.
- cmdrfred 10y ago
  Auto loans are at record numbers currently, I know couples who pull down 25k above me and my wife that are "poorer" (renting, saving less) due to auto loans. People are nuts about cars.
  - seanp2k2 10y ago
    People in the US are nuts about spending in general. Wedding rings that cost 6 months salary, cars that cost a few years worth, houses which cost 20 years worth...
    - cmdrfred 10y ago
      Indeed, we bought a home due to the fact that the mortgage was less than rent for a low end apartment. We see it as a way to build net worth and reduce costs, we buy used cars, buy bulk household goods though Amazon. A lot of people have this impression that its impossible to live the life that our parents had today. I'm sure its impossible in the bay area or Manhattan but as a high school drop out who lives in one of the top 100 highest income counties in the US I assure you that a very good standard of living is possible here. The only debt we have is our mortgage.
- 10y ago

annnnd 10y ago

This is why I don't usually withhold such information - I deliberately present invalid (but sane) data. if they care so much about market research, they should be prepared for some dirty data on the way. I value my privacy much higher than their business interests.

pg_is_a_butt 10y ago
90210

wlll 10y ago

This seems like an over reaction. Poor people aren't all after your money. This isn't Dickens.

longhust9x 10y ago

Hello,I am testing this app

longhust9x 10y ago
1

longhust9x 10y ago

Hello,I am testing this app