ADDRESS DATABASE?

[turner at TeleCheck.com]

sandfort at crl.com said:
> C'punks,

> Something of privacy interest happened to me yesterday.  I phoned a 
> company to ask for a copy of their catalog.  The phone clerk asked 
> for my last name and zip code.  After receiving that info, the clerk 
> asked me, "Is this your full name and address?" and then gave them 
> both correctly.  I was taken aback.

 Taken aback?  Its only going to get worse in the future.  As Telcos, credit
card companies, etc., start looking for new ways to make money I think 
selling information about you will increase dramatically.

Just think, with new and improved "interactive TV" you will be able to
get commercials tailored to your purchasing habits (A doctor would get
an commercial for an expensive car, while Joe Sixpacks would get the Ford
Fiestiva).

> I have been at my new address for only a couple of months.  Prior to 
> that, I have been couch surfing for a year and a half.  Though I 
> called an 800 number, ANI had nothing to do with it since I was 
> calling from work.  It may have been from a database associated with 
> a credit reporting agency, a bank or a utility company, but I am not 
> aware of any of these being available on-line for  something as 
> mundane as requesting a consumer catalog.  The clerk  had no idea 
> where the info came from (or so he said).  Does  anyone know how this 
> trick was done?

You might be the victim of the CD-ROM phone-book people, but I doubt it
if you have a new address (the versions lag 6+ months).  Telcos like 
Soutern Bell and South Western Bell are now offering directory lookup 
service to corporate customers on a per-lookup charge.  I think we signed 
on for our collections department to find delinquent individuals.

Perhaps even more frightening is that we now access to account information
from the Star network.  With your I.D., we can do a hit to see if your 
account is still open, closed, overdrawn, or in good standing.  I wonder
how long it will be before it is repackaged giving account balances.

... be afraid...

>  S a n d y

> P.S.  If anyone is interested in helping to make an adult       film, 
> drop me a note.