This is why you should never volunteer any information to any company (online or otherwise) that is not absolutely necessary in order to conduct business. Even

This is why you should never volunteer any information to any company (online or otherwise) that is not absolutely necessary in order to conduct business. Even if you personally trust them not to use your information in nefarious ways, they may not guard it very well from internal or external prying eyes. A few years ago, I was part of a group buying a commercial building. Each partner needed to co-sign for their portion of the loan. The bank wanted to know all the assets and liabilities of every partner. I listed all my liabilities and also listed enough assets to cover the liabilities. When the loan officer asked if that was all my assets, I honestly replied no and that I did not intent to list everything I owned. When I voiced security concerns as the main reason, he assured me that his bank had a secure system that was fool-proof. I just laughed and refused to give him the information he said he needed but obviously didn't. Luckily, they wanted the loan to go through and it did.