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Modern Techno-Vulnerability

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by airportkid, Mar 23, 2006.

  1. airportkid

    airportkid Will Fly For Food

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    I misread Schmika's irritation in a grocery line (see the Pet Peeve thread) - it wasn't the delay that bothered him but the fact that people still use paper checks.

    And that brings up an interesting issue in this day of vanished privacy: where are we most vulnerable to fraud: ID theft, or check fraud?

    Schmika would hate to encounter me in the checkout line because I use paper checks for many transactions. I'm still skittish about making my financial trail too easy for eight billion hungry e-retailers to junk mail target me from - or expose myself to ID theft.

    ID theft is no minor bruising. I've had several friends victimized by it and it's hell. Schmika claims the victims aren't out any money so shouldn't get upset. WRONG!!! ID theft victims are out time and hassle to clear their records, and having your credit rating in the dumpster can be catastrophic.

    I don't know anyone who's been the victim of having their checking account raided.

    So what's the consensus all round? I say the risks of being victimized are much smaller when using a paper check; Schmika swears the opposite. He's a policeman so has encountered victims of both; his perspective therefore commands respect. But I still like checks - or cash. I can stand losing a couple hundred to a stickup. I'd be devastated by an ID theft.

    Thoughts?

    Mark Baird
    Alameda CA
     
    #1 airportkid, Mar 23, 2006
  2. SluggoLovesNancy

    SluggoLovesNancy New Member

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    A fellow I worked with was once devastated when in preparing for a conference call, I stated that I "googled" the lead participant of the call on the other end. I was trying to learn a little more about their research, etc. He took it as invasion of privacy because he himself is a crack scientist in his field and the thought of people "googling" him and prepping before they talked to him apparently made him quite insecure.

    I mention this because there is soooo much identity information out there on a lot of folks, that I think that if one wanted to slip into the character of another, there is a lot of info available to aid someone in doing this. It's not just the stuff that you put out there yourself, I've come across communications I've had with others that have somehow made it to something that was indexed and searchable from my browser.

    I'm currently teetering on the edge of complete openness vs. complete privacy. One one hand, I freely purchase items on the internet (close to 100% of major purchases) and openly hand out addresses, etc, but on the other hand, I've recently eliminated everything google from my computer (toolbar, desktop search, etc). As a computer scientist and dabbler in data mining, I tend to believe I've got a pretty open record for someone out there to look at (including this post), but am wondering if anyone really will use it at a local, microscopic level. It is the more "summarized" profiling that bothers me at the moment.
     
    #2 SluggoLovesNancy, Mar 23, 2006
  3. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Ever thought of paying for groceries with cash? Leaves no trail at all.

    BTW, I never sign up for those supermarket discount cards, because I figure they'll tarket me for a ton of junk mail.
     
    #3 daniel, Mar 24, 2006
  4. MarinJohn

    MarinJohn Senior Member

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    Although our "homeland" security boys, marketing genius', IRS, and privacy invaders one and all may hate it, cash is still king. My bank tellers look askance at me a couple of times a month when I withdraw a pile of hundreds. I've taken to lying to them and tell them I have a gambling problem! I use cash for everything except big-ticket purchases where I use credit cards. In the grocery I am usually the only one in a long line who pays with cash. I even see people writing checks for minor transactions under $10, for the love of god. I'm the clown ahead of you at the gas station who has to run back in for change after a fill up.
     
    #4 MarinJohn, Mar 24, 2006
  5. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Heck, I've seen people write a check for one loaf of bread!
     
    #5 daniel, Mar 24, 2006
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