8 ms·

The underlying problem seems to be that companies confuse identification with authentication. A drivers license number is a unique ID. The physical card with s

The underlying problem seems to be that companies confuse identification with authentication. A drivers license number is a unique ID. The physical card with security features and a photo is the authentication that it belongs to me, holding it. Same thing with social security numbers. That can be treated as an identifier, so the bank can talk about an individual. But not as authentication and authorization to open new accounts. Data breaches would be so much less scary if banks and similar didn't keep screwing this up.

dheera 5y ago
They also sent me unsolicited junk mail at a new address and I don't know how they got that address. As such I would never use Geico for violating my privacy. I will only use companies that DON'T try to extract my personal info without me giving it to them explicitly. This only doubly confirms that they suck at privacy.
- pxeboot 5y ago
  If you submit a change of address to the USPS, they sell that data to marketing companies. One workaround is to submit a 'temporary' address change for 6 months at a time instead.
  - dheera 5y ago
    I don't submit change of address to USPS for this reason. I hate the USPS with a passion for doing that to people.
    - bashinator 5y ago
      Hate the politicians who cut USPS' funding to such an extent that this is necessary.
      - mistrial9 5y ago
        USPS wasted huge money and the Union demands even bigger pensions, while USPS is losing market to commercial carriers at the same time in the open market.. no one is clean in that fight
    - cptskippy 5y ago
      The purpose of the function is to update any entity that legitimately has your name/address as to your new address. It's used by Magazine publishers to automatically update your subscription addresses. It's also used by companies you've done business with but might not have updated your address info such as a specialist doctor you visited once or your old insurance company. I personally think that's of more value than stopping junk mailers from sending me personalized junk mail. You're going to get the junk mail either way.
      - dheera 5y ago
        No, screw that. 99% of people who get updated address via USPS are illegitimate. If they think they're doing me a service, they're not. Specialist doctors can just e-mail me. This is 2021. My physical address has changed at least 8 times in the past 2 decades. My e-mail address hasn't changed in that whole time. I don't subscribe to magazines, and even if I did, you'd be sure as hell that I would update my address if I was paying for something.
        cptskippy 5y ago
        > 99% of people who get updated address via USPS are illegitimate. Is there any evidence to back that up or is that one of those "Feel Facts"? So it's not beneficial to you but many people change their email address with greater frequency than they do their mailing address so your solution wouldn't work either.
        dheera 5y ago
        In my case it's 100%. I change my address with anyone who needs it. Anyone who doesn't get contacted by me doesn't need to know. It's my personal information and before they try to do me a "service" by giving it away, they should ASK me. What next, give away my address to stalkers who knew where I lived before? Fuck that.
        cptskippy 5y ago
        So no then? > they try to do me a "service" by giving it away, they should ASK me. You realize this is a voluntary service you sign up for? They make it clear the reasons for doing it.
  - throwawayboise 5y ago
    I thought there was a (perhaps non-obvious) opt-out for that? Am I misremembering?
- icedchai 5y ago
  Good luck. Privacy is an illusion. If you use your address for any sort of billing (utilities, cell phone, whatever) or government / public service (license, voter, real estate records) it is going to be sold, and resold...
  - dheera 5y ago
    Use a UPS box for billing addresses. Don't register to vote until THEY commit to stop handing out addresses. Or register to vote without your address. That should be possible. Homeless people can register to vote, so I should be able to as well.
    - icedchai 5y ago
      Utilities still know your physical service address. Generally banks and some other financial accounts require a physical address, in addition to a PO box / mailing address if you use one. This will be shared. There is no escape.
      - dheera 5y ago
        I refuse to think there is no escape. How do billionaires and domestic violence victims do it? For financial accounts, many private mailbox services give you a real street address, so it doesn't look like a PO Box.
- astura 5y ago
  >They also sent me unsolicited junk mail at a new address and I don't know how they got that address They got it from your credit report. You may opt out of these types of offers: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0148-prescreened-credit-and-insurance-offers https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0148-prescreened-credi...
perl4ever 5y ago
>if banks and similar didn't keep screwing this up They aren't "screwing it up". They eliminate the problem from their perspective via forcing people into binding arbitration and forbidding class actions, and also through promoting the concept of "identity theft" which eliminates the sense that they have any agency when there are compromises. Every user agreement I see goes on and on about how you the consumer are responsible for any compromises on your end, so there's no question that the concept of being responsible for security is widely understood. It simply is not applied to corporations because they are able to reject it where individuals have no bargaining power.
nerdponx 5y ago
They probably think of it as "something you have" as in TOTP, without considering or caring that it's pretty easy for other people to "have" it too.

dheera 5y ago

They also sent me unsolicited junk mail at a new address and I don't know how they got that address. As such I would never use Geico for violating my privacy. I will only use companies that DON'T try to extract my personal info without me giving it to them explicitly. This only doubly confirms that they suck at privacy.

pxeboot 5y ago
If you submit a change of address to the USPS, they sell that data to marketing companies. One workaround is to submit a 'temporary' address change for 6 months at a time instead.
- dheera 5y ago
  I don't submit change of address to USPS for this reason. I hate the USPS with a passion for doing that to people.
  - bashinator 5y ago
    Hate the politicians who cut USPS' funding to such an extent that this is necessary.
    - mistrial9 5y ago
      USPS wasted huge money and the Union demands even bigger pensions, while USPS is losing market to commercial carriers at the same time in the open market.. no one is clean in that fight
  - cptskippy 5y ago
    The purpose of the function is to update any entity that legitimately has your name/address as to your new address. It's used by Magazine publishers to automatically update your subscription addresses. It's also used by companies you've done business with but might not have updated your address info such as a specialist doctor you visited once or your old insurance company. I personally think that's of more value than stopping junk mailers from sending me personalized junk mail. You're going to get the junk mail either way.
    - dheera 5y ago
      No, screw that. 99% of people who get updated address via USPS are illegitimate. If they think they're doing me a service, they're not. Specialist doctors can just e-mail me. This is 2021. My physical address has changed at least 8 times in the past 2 decades. My e-mail address hasn't changed in that whole time. I don't subscribe to magazines, and even if I did, you'd be sure as hell that I would update my address if I was paying for something.
      - cptskippy 5y ago
        > 99% of people who get updated address via USPS are illegitimate. Is there any evidence to back that up or is that one of those "Feel Facts"? So it's not beneficial to you but many people change their email address with greater frequency than they do their mailing address so your solution wouldn't work either.
        dheera 5y ago
        In my case it's 100%. I change my address with anyone who needs it. Anyone who doesn't get contacted by me doesn't need to know. It's my personal information and before they try to do me a "service" by giving it away, they should ASK me. What next, give away my address to stalkers who knew where I lived before? Fuck that.
        cptskippy 5y ago
        So no then? > they try to do me a "service" by giving it away, they should ASK me. You realize this is a voluntary service you sign up for? They make it clear the reasons for doing it.
- throwawayboise 5y ago
  I thought there was a (perhaps non-obvious) opt-out for that? Am I misremembering?
icedchai 5y ago
Good luck. Privacy is an illusion. If you use your address for any sort of billing (utilities, cell phone, whatever) or government / public service (license, voter, real estate records) it is going to be sold, and resold...
- dheera 5y ago
  Use a UPS box for billing addresses. Don't register to vote until THEY commit to stop handing out addresses. Or register to vote without your address. That should be possible. Homeless people can register to vote, so I should be able to as well.
  - icedchai 5y ago
    Utilities still know your physical service address. Generally banks and some other financial accounts require a physical address, in addition to a PO box / mailing address if you use one. This will be shared. There is no escape.
    - dheera 5y ago
      I refuse to think there is no escape. How do billionaires and domestic violence victims do it? For financial accounts, many private mailbox services give you a real street address, so it doesn't look like a PO Box.
astura 5y ago
>They also sent me unsolicited junk mail at a new address and I don't know how they got that address They got it from your credit report. You may opt out of these types of offers: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0148-prescreened-credit-and-insurance-offers https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0148-prescreened-credi...

perl4ever 5y ago

>if banks and similar didn't keep screwing this up They aren't "screwing it up". They eliminate the problem from their perspective via forcing people into binding arbitration and forbidding class actions, and also through promoting the concept of "identity theft" which eliminates the sense that they have any agency when there are compromises. Every user agreement I see goes on and on about how you the consumer are responsible for any compromises on your end, so there's no question that the concept of being responsible for security is widely understood. It simply is not applied to corporations because they are able to reject it where individuals have no bargaining power.

nerdponx 5y ago

They probably think of it as "something you have" as in TOTP, without considering or caring that it's pretty easy for other people to "have" it too.