Re: Telemarketing?

>> The number was 800 852 5321.

>> I often encounter websites that ask my date of birth without good >> reason. I alter it because I've heard it can be useful to criminals >> (even if the organization is reputable, such as a newspaper). That's >> why it concerns me that unidentified people asked my aunt's date of >> birth in peculiar circumstances. >> Choreboy > I believe it was mentioned earlier that they answered "Marlboro." > Presuming it is honestly associated with the makers of Marlboro > cigarettes, depending on their purpose they may ask for the date of > birth to identify whether the person is old enough to legally buy > cigarettes. > Wes Leatherock > snipped-for-privacy@aol.com > snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com

Is it possible for a consumer to order cigarettes from the manufacturer by telephone? Did they call my aunt to make sure the order hadn't been placed by a minor using her credit card?

If a customer placed an order and they phoned to check, they could lose the sale and the customer if she didn't return the call. I find it remarkable that the caller didn't name her company so the customer would be more likely to call back.

Hundreds of companies call themselves "Marlboro", but I don't think the cigarette manufacturer is one. Wouldn't they answer the phone "Philip Morris"?

Legitimate orders are oftem placed with somebody else's credit card. So it was immaterial whether my aunt smoked. The only way to check the order was the tell her had been ordered. She might have said her adult daughter smoked that brand and had permission to use the card.

>> Dave Garland wrote:

>> It was a dark and stormy night when Choreboy

>>> wrote: >>>> Did scammers get my aunt's date of birth? Would that be useful? >>> It would be useful if you were committing identity theft. Not to say >>> that is what is happening, but it is a bit odd. >>> It would be interesting to learn who that toll-free number lists to. >>> If you shared the number, perhaps someone more knowledgable than I >>> would look it up and learn more about its owner. >> The number was 800 852 5321. >> I often encounter websites that ask my date of birth without good >> reason. I alter it because I've heard it can be useful to criminals >> (even if the organization is reputable, such as a newspaper). That's >> why it concerns me that unidentified people asked my aunt's date of >> birth in peculiar circumstances. > 1) In the US, Federal law requires them to determine age to determine > whether collection information is legal, as well as "adult" content. > Admittedly a birthday isn't "required" but it's easier.

I don't remember seeing a warning for kids not to fill in forms on a web page. It seems a strange approach to demand personal information in order to determine if demanding it was legal. If the kid exaggerates his age or makes a typo on his DOB, the illegal information stays on file.

2) It's often seen as a harmless piece of information which can be used > to partially verify a user down the road. Like all things it has been > way over-used so it's less useful now.

I've often forgotten passwords and never been asked my DOB for verification. Apparently they require it for some other reason. These are sites apparently without age restrictions.

3) Marketing: Knowing someone's age is very useful when determining > marketing demographics.

You don't need to know what day people were born to classify them by age. Some newspapers will let you download an archived item for $3. For others, the price is to provide personal information, starting with name and date of birth. Together they form a unique identifier for most Americans.

If they want this information in leiu of dollars, it must be of value. How does it profit a newspaper to know the DOB of somebody a thousand miles away who once read an old article?

A big web company had files of customer information collected under an assurance of privacy. Another corporation bought them. A judge ruled that this corporation had the right to sell the personal information on file. There's a market for the personal information websites collect, and the result might not be harmless.

Choreboy

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Choreboy
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