Be Strong, Put Your Foot Down!

CJisinShape

To work with the pt at the gym, they had to put my info in their system. They wanted my fingerprint scanned to identify the account. Uhm, no.

Went to Target, I had to show my I.D. to get NyQuil. I showed it, so he could SEE I was legal age. He got out his scanner. He wanted to scan my ID! Uh, NO!!!!

I said, no, you guys just got in trouble for credit card info, now you want my ID?! Uh, no. I left the NyQuil right there and the clerk looked at me like I had a third head or something.

Unless consumers get a clue and say no to the intrusive info gathering, they will keep doing this nonsense. Just say NO to Big Brother!

And what do you know...before I finished typing this message, an ad for a credit card popped up. What a coincidence (sarcasm).

mank32

Unless consumers get a clue and say no to the intrusive info gathering, they will keep doing this nonsense.

George F Will (i think) recently wrote that this s*** has been going on for a while, and i think the implication was that little we do now may have any substantive impact on this entrenched system... :shrug:

_John_

I have a TWIC card and am on an ATF explosives permit for my company..the gubment knows all my ****.

WeepingAngel81

Make sure you were a mask and wig every time you step out of the house as well. Big brother is watching after all.

JoanaMHill

Make sure you were a mask and wig every time you step out of the house as well. Big brother is watching after all.

Wig? What about a tin hat?

somefitsomefat

Make sure you were a mask and wig every time you step out of the house as well. Big brother is watching after all.

Wig? What about a tin hat?

This is the knee jerk reaction but I think there is a real issue here. Companies like Target are selling data it collects about customers that could fall in to the hands of insurance companies (nope, not kidding, this was in The Wall Street Journal) among others. Right now they're only using this data to predict health trends but there might come a day when that data is directly tied to a consumers individual premiums. For instance if you're suddenly buying larger clothes that could signal you're gaining weight, or if you're buying lots of pain medication perhaps you have a lingering injury. Things like that. Cigarettes and alcohol purchases would probably be of great interest to them too.

BekaBooluvsu

They don't have to watch anything. People post so much stuff on their Facebook and social media websites that they don't have to do much else. I hear on the news at least once a day about some employer checking out a future prospective employee only to judge them based on what they post. Watch what you say period! The ID thing for cold medicine has been that way for years. It's to make sure you are taking it for its intended purpose and not cooking meth.

Some people have already put GPS chips in their kids.

FYI: carry all cards with a strip on the back in a metal case to prevent theft. I had my bank account emptied because someone had a skimmer on a redbox machine. They also have an app that can skim your info through your purse without ever touching you. YouTube it if you don't believe me.

WeepingAngel81

Make sure you were a mask and wig every time you step out of the house as well. Big brother is watching after all.

Wig? What about a tin hat?

That won't work. They will be able to read your mind through the thin hat.

pawnstarNate

I own a Pawn Shop so Cash is like my middle name. I got rid of credit cards several years ago. Have a debit card but, usually only keep enough money in the account to cover the bills. I guess I learned to be old school like my dad who turned the shop over to me years ago. I will say the one downside to being able to pay with cash for everything (besides bills and internet orders) is I went to buy a new car in 2010. I asked the salesman if I paid in cash, can I get a little better deal? It was like he didn't even want to talk to me then. They would rather finance.

morethanthis0

Went to Target, I had to show my I.D. to get NyQuil. I showed it, so he could SEE I was legal age. He got out his scanner. He wanted to scan my ID! Uh, NO!!!!

I said, no, you guys just got in trouble for credit card info, now you want my ID?! Uh, no. I left the NyQuil right there and the clerk looked at me like I had a third head or something.

I get your point but I hope you weren't rude to the clerk himself, he's just doing his job that pays about minimum wage and the computer system has no way around completing the transaction without the scan or run of the ID.

I worked retail for many years, including at target in the guest service department and so many people would yell at us for things we had no control over or could not change. We do our job that's not great anyways, follow rules and laws and people expected us (the workers) to magically be able to change something, break a rule or a law, or make something happen that is literally impossible and out of our control. Like in orange county with switching to no plastic bags...it is a law! and people would still yell at clerks and managers because they couldn't get a plastic bag. Stores can get huge fines if a plastic bags are even found in the store.

anyways, I understand your frustration but please don't take it out on the employees!

RaeLB

If nothing else, Snowden (and so many others), taught us is that the American public doesn't care about the government and corporations accessing their private information.

bcattoes

The reason they scan your license even after looking at it is to verify it's not fake. Most stores will also do this if you write a check.

Pharmacies, grocery stores and other places that require a card to get discounts are also compiling data in the same manner, they just give you sales to entice you not to say know. This is mostly just so they can track buying trends. It drives what they choose to put on sale. And my local grocer (Kroger) sends me coupons specifically for products I buy often. I like that.

I refuse to give my phone number if asked, but I don't mind giving my zip or something. If they are going to stock items and determine what gets put on sale by this data, then I don't want to leave it up to the lady in the high water polyester pants with a buggy full of stuff I don't use.

But, the OP is correct. If it bothers you, just say no.

jennifer_417

Yeah! Way to stick it to the man! Or, to simply make the day of a cashier who's just trying to do his job a little harder...

jodi41086

(rolls eyes) You sound like my father... There is a family in Alaska who thinks the government is after them they live off the land and have an underground bunker full of food and supplies... My father and step family lol Im sure if your willing to work on the farm they would add you to the craziness

jodi41086

Yeah! Way to stick it to the man! Or, to simply make the day of a cashier who's just trying to do his job a little harder...

Agreed!!! from someone who works in customer service

CJisinShape

(rolls eyes) You sound like my father... There is a family in Alaska who thinks the government is after them they live off the land and have an underground bunker full of food and supplies... My father and step family lol Im sure if your willing to work on the farm they would add you to the craziness

What is crazy is a health club asking for biometric info just to look up an account. That's the same info banks use and the government uses to identify people. I worked at a tech company, so I'm not a technophobe - I'm just aware that these Orwellian requests have gotten worse over the years, and they less able to protect the data they are requesting from you.

It's not an issue of sticking it to the man, or making a cashier's life more difficult. Rather, it is simply letting a consumer-driven company understand its consumers don't like the infringement of their privacy rights.

hbrittingham

I believe the whole Nyquil thing is a federal requirement due to increases in meth production. If the Nyquil contains pseudoephedrine, then you have to present your ID to purchase it.

http://www.fda.gov/drugs/drugsafety/informationbydrugclass/ucm072423.htm

ItsCasey

OP is asking why does the ID need to be scanned, not why do you have to show it.

The scanners make it easier to tell if the ID is a fake, but you know a lot of places that do this sort of thing are collecting and selling the info. And it is definitely true that people already share too much on Facebook without anyone even having to ask for it. I used to date a criminal investigator who was on some security advisory panel for Facebook, and he went through all these insane scenarios with me about what criminals can deduce about you from one freaking photo on Facebook and how they can use that info to rob you blind.

I am not THAT concerned about what the government knows. I pay taxes, and I have a concealed handgun license, so between the IRS and the FBI, they've got a pretty good file on me already. I don't intentionally break the law. I don't have anything embarrassing stashed anywhere. So come at me, G-men.

But I'll be damned if I give some gym operated by teenagers my fingerprints or let Target scan my ID so they can sell my info to people who weren't smart enough to steal it.

hbrittingham

I am thinking that Target was going to scan the ID because that was a quicker way to get the info into the computer for the required government information. Who knows, I could be wrong. It doesn't really matter to me. I have nothing to hide so I don't really care if they scan my ID or not. I do agree that I wouldn't provide fingerprints to a gym. I'd find a gym that didn't require that.

tigersword

LOL.

How many watch lists do you think OP is on now? Especially after attempting to buy a drug that is commonly abused to make meth, then abandoning it when asked to scan the ID to ensure that she wasn't already known as a meth manufacturer. Legally, you have to give your name and address when purchasing drugs containing pseudoephedrine. Scanning the ID allows for instant input of the information, rather than inputting the information by hand.