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Doc Safari
10-03-13, 13:25
I swear this just happened.

My girlfriend has some ammo ordered, and it shipped FedEx. She wanted to contact them to have them hold it at their shipping hub because she has to work tonight and tomorrow night.

I tried to help her by tracking her package, looking for FedEx's phone number, etc. We ended up calling their 800 number, so contacting FedEx is no longer relevant to this. Before calling the number, we decided that maybe registering for an online account with them would be the way to go for this and future orders.

With me so far?

After entering her name, address, email, phone, etc., a series of questions popped up to validate the registration. Lo and behold, the questions "just happened" to pertain to her profession, state requirements for that profession, and another personal question that was too much to be a coincidence. NOTE THAT WE HAD PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED NONE OF THAT INFORMATION TO FEDEX.

How were they able to instantaneously access information relating to her vocation and whatnot? What they knew could not possibly be explained away as "coincidence", and I do not wish to go into additional detail.

How much more is some "everyday" website able to instantly access potentially personal information that has nothing to do with that website? And if all that is going on, how many unauthorized people are accessing all of that information in real time 24/7?

Most importantly, other than faking one's own death...how in the blue blazes does one "opt out" of being data-mined in real time just to register for an account with some website that shouldn't care to know that much about a person?
skijunkie55
10-03-13, 13:30
Don't shop online, don't use social media, don't use google searches, don't write emails...
Ick
10-03-13, 13:31
Did she ever RECEIVE a fedex shipment in the past? When I send someone a package I can put in a contact name, phone number, email address, etc. I think it even files the business name. It would be no surprise if they have some way to "connect" a business name and email address with a known list of vendors from industry prospecting lists.

Also, about every association I belong to has "discounted" shipping rates as they are the "endorsed" shipper, for example the "Pennsylvania Association of Financial Representatives" "shares" all sorts of information on members with Fedex because they get a kickback for every package shipped in their "sponsored" program.
SteyrAUG
10-03-13, 13:42
Don't shop online, don't use social media, don't use google searches, don't write emails...

Won't work.

When I've done in depth searches I found my name associated with my parents address and I moved out in 1983 when I was starting high school to go live with my grandparents. I didn't even have a drivers license yet and never did have one associated with that address.

That is well before the internet.

And you simply can't avoid it is most professions. If you have any kind of business license then linkedin, wikicorp and about a half dozen others have that information online complete with your name, address, phone number and often date of birth.

I've even found my fathers medical licenses that he had back in the 1970s.
Ick
10-03-13, 13:47
He was being facetious.
rdbse
10-03-13, 13:49
I recently went through the same thing with UPS when signing up for "UPS My Choice". There were a number of questions to validate the registration which included previous addresses and make, model of vehicle.

I'm both amazed and disgusted with access to this information.
austinN4
10-03-13, 14:04
Ever applied for a new bank account online? You will get the same kind of validation process if you are a new customer and it is all done via the credit bureaus.

Edited to add: And it has been that way for many years. Nothing new here.
skijunkie55
10-03-13, 14:27
He was being facetious.

:D

I wonder if the typical NSA analyst sings "Wherever you will do" by Air Supply while clicking away on their keyboard...

"How near or far, I'll find you, wherever you are
You know I'll find you, wherever you go"
1911-A1
10-03-13, 14:40
Companies trade and purchase customer lists from one another frequently.

Is it any surprise that a company like FedEx, who spends millions on logistics, process improvement, efficiency studies, etc. would have spent money to obtain info on potential customers?
Moose-Knuckle
10-03-13, 15:48
I had the privilege of attending a lecture given by the gentleman who founded the information security firm that the film Sneakers (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/?ref_=sr_1) was based upon. His step-son was in my graduating class. Back in the 90’s he told us that “we are so far beyond Big Brother it’s not even funny”. Bear in mind this was prior to Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, et al.
LowSpeed_HighDrag
10-03-13, 15:50
This isn't the scary government's doing. There are companies paid to mine your data, enter it into searchable databases, and then sell them to marketing companies. Telemarketers know a metric shit ton about you before they ever click "dial".
Moose-Knuckle
10-03-13, 15:55
This isn't the scary government's doing. There are companies paid to mine your data, enter it into searchable databases, and then sell them to marketing companies. Telemarketers know a metric shit ton about you before they ever click "dial".

I don't think the OP was implying that this was the NSA, Big Brother is not limited to only .gov entities. But yeah, if the pizza joint down the street has your data you can just imagine what they have the Utah Data Center.
skydivr
10-03-13, 15:57
My favorite show "Person of Interest"...last night was pretty spot on about data mining...and the NEW twist is some "organization" that wants to stop the government from having it all" It felt uncomfortably close that the writers were making the organization look like the 'tea party terrorists"...gonna have to see which way this goes...
Doc Safari
10-03-13, 16:15
I don't think the OP was implying that this was the NSA, Big Brother is not limited to only .gov entities. But yeah, if the pizza joint down the street has your data you can just imagine what they have the Utah Data Center.

Right. It's bad enough the dot-guv has your info. Now some snot-nosed kid that beats off before he makes your burger knows everything about you too.
Caeser25
10-03-13, 16:27
Odd. The Secret Service had to serve me a subpoena last month for a case they have against a company I briefly had an apprenticeship with 8 years ago. They gave up after going to two wrong addresses and just called me and said we can give it to you tomorrow or swing by your work sometime. Dude was pretty cool. The security desk was asking all kind of questions and he pretty much said this is an open investigation, they can **** off, this is none of their business.
TAZ
10-09-13, 13:17
Right. It's bad enough the dot-guv has your info. Now some snot-nosed kid that beats off before he makes your burger knows everything about you too.

And people wonder why identity theft is a growth industry. How could it not be with all this crap floating about the lowest bidder built clouds.

I agree that we are too far past Big Brother to even consider having any kind of privacy. So I usually try to have fun with it. Some days I'm a neurosurgeon others I'm a garbage man. Once in a while I was born in February some time I was bin in December. Have fun with it and see what comes back in junk mail. Maybe he way to overcome the privacy thing is to just inundate the system with useless data and see what happens.
Moose-Knuckle
10-09-13, 15:00
And people wonder why identity theft is a growth industry. How could it not be with all this crap floating about the lowest bidder built clouds.

I agree that we are too far past Big Brother to even consider having any kind of privacy. So I usually try to have fun with it. Some days I'm a neurosurgeon others I'm a garbage man. Once in a while I was born in February some time I was bin in December. Have fun with it and see what comes back in junk mail. Maybe he way to overcome the privacy thing is to just inundate the system with useless data and see what happens.

I always like to give my self titles like Doctor Reverend. :D
Moltke
10-09-13, 16:48
You can run.

But you cannot hide.
Javelin
10-09-13, 17:48
You can run.

But you cannot hide.

If you're running you're going the wrong way I always say.