Online Security And Personal Info.

[trout fanatic]

I think businesses across the board think they have the "right" to our personal info. Just this morning I went to Lowes to buy a BBQ basket. I took it to the cashier (who was very young and quite pretty). She rang up my purchase, smiled at me and asked for my home phone #. I smiled back and asked for hers (she didn;t get mine and I didn't get hers, lol). I then returned home and sent an e-mail to corporate HQ and informed them that I was a cash paying customer and my home phone number was no business of theirs (I also informed them I would not return to their establishment.

I think that businesses have been asking for (and getting) personal information for so long that it is considered an acceptable practice

[jdmidwest]

They use the info for market studies, I don't think they use it for telemarketing purposes. Since I pay extra for an unlisted number and am on the NO-CALL List, I always give them my x-wife or make one up. It was always funny when the kid or the girlfriend would hear me give out the number and hear them say "Dad, that is not our number is it?". There is no law that I know of stating you have to give them a real phone number, they just ask for a phone number.

[eric1978]

I just give them the darn number. They've never called and I haven't been murdered yet.

[flytyer57]

I think businesses across the board think they have the "right" to our personal info. Just this morning I went to Lowes to buy a BBQ basket. I took it to the cashier (who was very young and quite pretty). She rang up my purchase, smiled at me and asked for my home phone #. I smiled back and asked for hers (she didn;t get mine and I didn't get hers, lol). I then returned home and sent an e-mail to corporate HQ and informed them that I was a cash paying customer and my home phone number was no business of theirs (I also informed them I would not return to their establishment.

I think that businesses have been asking for (and getting) personal information for so long that it is considered an acceptable practice

If asked by a cashier for my zip code, I would give them 90802, which is where I used to live in California. Never had one even blink at being given a strange zip code not from the local listings.

Area codes are used to determine where the people are coming from to shop at the store. If corporate sees 1000's of the same area code every day, week, month etc., they will start looking to open a store in that zip code.

As for wanting phone numbers, just give them the number to the local sheriff's office.