ProQuo - 12 Daily Dangers You Never Knew — Everyday Activities That Can Affect Your Personal Privacy

12 Daily Dangers You Never Knew — Everyday Activities That Can Affect Your Personal Privacy

By Erik Bratt
ProQuo
April 2008

You go to great lengths to protect your social security number, your credit card information, and other sensitive information. But did you know that everyday activities like entering a sweepstakes or filling out a warranty card can increase your privacy risk? This can lead to things such as wasteful junk mail, profiling without your consent, and greater exposure to identity theft.

Here are 12 everyday activities that may affect your privacy:

Entering a sweepstakes — By entering your personal information into a sweepstakes, either online or at the mall, you are often giving data brokers the right to resell your information to others. Entering sweepstakes may even allow telemarketers to bypass the Federal Trade Commission's Do Not Call Registry and call you directly at your home.
Returning a warranty or product registration card — Ever notice how product warranty cards sometimes have questions that are completely unrelated to the product you purchased? That's because these cards are actually marketing solicitations that deliver junk mail based your answers. Truth is, most manufacturer warranties require only a proof of purchase (receipt).
Requesting information about a product or service you saw online (for example, by completing an online information request form) — Many web sites collect your personal information and your interest in a particular product to either sell to others, or to try and sell you a variety of things you may not want. In many cases, your name is sold as part of a larger list of people that is interested in a particular product – even if it’s related to an embarrassing personal or medical condition.
Requesting information about a product or service you saw on an infomercial (for instance, by calling a toll-free number) — Be particularly careful when calling a number associated with an infomercial. There are often no privacy policies to review, no security procedures to safeguard your information, and no indication of what they will do with your information. Also, remember that a business relationship between you and another company can mean that they are no longer bound by the federal Do Not Call list.
Providing your personal information (such as your name, address, email, age, income, credit rating purchasing preferences) to a web site without reviewing their privacy policy — Many web sites respect your privacy, but it is important to know which ones they are. Even the web sites of companies with strong brands regularly release personal information. Others require you to take specific action to keep your information private.
Applying for a bank loan or home mortgage — Even the act of applying for a loan can result in your name being bought and sold by unexpected sources – like the major credit bureaus themselves. In fact, after a mortgage company checks your credit, the credit bureaus then sell personal financial information to other lenders who want your business.
Getting married — Because marriage records generally become public, numerous data brokers gather and sell this information. The best way to prevent being swamped with unwanted marketing solicitations is to either contact the data brokers directly or work through a service like ProQuo.
Having a baby — Like marriage records, birth records are also made public. You can dramatically reduce unwanted solicitations to new parents by removing your name from the data brokers that take advantage of this information. ProQuo can help.
Enrolling in a new rewards program (such as frequent flyer or hotel points program) — One reason that companies are able to provide the rewards that they do from a financial standpoint is because they are able to track your behavior much more effectively. This means sending you more marketing offers. Understand what you are getting into when you sign up for this type of program.
Applying for a credit card in a retail store — In-store credit card deals often sound great – you can sometimes save 10% or more instantly by signing up for one on the spot. Just realize, however, that your personal information may be quickly used for other purposes – not only by the store but by the credit card issuer as well.
Donating to a political campaign — This information can be closely tracked, and you can quickly end up on a database of people who have contributed to a specific campaign. Don’t be surprised if you then become the target of other interest groups that learn what you’ve done.
Signing up for a new supermarket discount card — When you submit your information to many "clubs," this information may be sold to data brokers and can end up in the hands of dozens of other marketers. This is true of many in-store rewards cards, not just supermarkets.

There is no way to become immune to these daily threats. However, with this knowledge you can be more careful and aware of what happens to your personal information when you give it out. To see how ProQuo can help you control how marketers use your personal information, click here.

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