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Here’s Why You Might Want to Stop Giving Out Your ZIP Code to Stores

Mar. 20, 2013 12:45pm Liz Klimas

You might have thought nothing of stores asking for your ZIP code when you’re making a purchase. After all, it’s just the general location of where you live, right?

According to privacy experts, giving out your ZIP code might reveal more about you than you intend to reveal.

In a recent interview with NBC’s Today show, Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Policy and Advocacy Director Paul Stephens advised customers against offering up their ZIP codes. He said when paired with information like the customer’s name on a credit card, these ZIP codes can help identify the person’s actual address and target them with marketing materials, like junk mail.

Stores Asking for ZIP Codes in Credit Card Transactions Can Find Addresses for Marketing

(Photo: Shutterstock.com)

According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s fact sheet on the topic, merchants cannot legally require of consumers:

Any personal information, including address and telephone number, on any form associated with the credit card transaction when the consumer uses a credit card to pay for goods or services;
Personal information that the merchant then records; or
Forms with pre-printed spaces for personal information.

There are exceptions to the above, like allowing collection of ZIP codes for gasoline “pay at the pump” transactions. This information though can only be used for fraud, theft and identity theft prevention.

The fact sheet also references a case where the California Supreme Court ruled that merchants cannot ask customers for ZIP codes in credit card transactions because Williams Sonoma was using the information to locate specific addresses to send catalogs to customers who never provided an address for it in the first place.

Today brought up a more recent ruling in Massachusetts involving Michaels craft stores and a similar practice.

“Obviously, if I go into a store and I make a purchase, I don’t expect – unless I sign up for a mailing list – that I’m going to start receiving catalogs from the store,” Stephens said.

Watch Today’s segment on this topic:

There are legitimate reasons that might require ZIP codes for transactions, like for security purposes or online purchases. In these cases though, the information would not be stored for use in a company’s marketing.

Overall though, if you’re asked for your ZIP code during a credit card transaction and do not want to receive what you might consider junk mail, “just say no,” Stephens said.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse’s fact sheet also cautions customers about electronic receipts, which are becoming a more prevalent option as some stores try to switch to a paperless system.

“Collection of the customer’s email address in conjunction with a credit card payment in these circumstances may be unlawful,” the fact sheet stated. Learn more about the law regarding these cases here.

–

Related:

Featured image and carousel photo via Shutterstock.com.

This story has been updated to correct a typo.

(H/T: Daily Mail)

In CONTROL, Glenn Beck presents a passionate, fact-based case for guns that reveals why gun control isn’t really about controlling guns at all; it’s about controlling us. Find out more HERE.

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Comments (142)

everydaywoman
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:06pm
Most times I just give them a zip code from an area of which I don’t live. When they ask for a phone number, I’ve been know to give them numbers that I know are disconnected (when a friend moves or a relative moves – or dies, etc.) and haven’t been “recycled” yet.

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- thorkyl
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:38pm
  I like to give them city hall’s address and phone number
  
  Report this comment
- 3-Blue
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 4:16pm
  Oooooh yeah. That is so scarrrry. The last time I got a catalog in the mail I fought with it from the living room to the kitchen and on into the den. The rug was all bunched up! What a mess! Glossy adds everywhere! I even got a paper cut! It was hideous!
  
  Yeah I know that business hasn’t killed millions of people like governments have, but you never know when they might start! It could happen at any time, so watch your back! It’s not like your money becomes homeless though. It finds a new home to live in even if you part with it foolishly and hopefully in the process you become wiser. :)
  
  Really people? It’s government we need to worry about, not business. Let’s get some perspective, shall we? The only type of business you need to worry about is the kind that government engages in. That is deadly business.
  
  Report this comment
- WOLVERINES56
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 4:51pm
  HEY! Good idea. How about 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. in DC 20500
  
  Report this comment
- proantisocialist
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 5:16pm
  I don’t know about you guy’s,but when they first asked me for a zip.i gave them one in California…and this was in Ohio.i told the girl that’s where i live and didn’t know what my zip was here.so she just threw one in..lol
  
  Report this comment
- muffythetuffy
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 5:19pm
  I NEVER GIVE MY ZIP CODE
  
  I tell the clerk its private and just make one up or use their own.
  
  Report this comment
- everydaywoman
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 5:26pm
  “Really people? It’s government we need to worry about, not business. Let’s get some perspective, shall we?”
  
  LOL! I don’t do what I do because I have something against big or small business. Quite the contrary. I give the answers I do because I don’t want all the junk mail and coupons of which the majority that I can never use (that always ends up in the trash anyway). I don’t expect it to stops junk mail completely (that’s unrealistc), but I have seen a slight decrease in the volume.
  Beside there are stores – like Target – that do take inventory of what you buy and send you coupons (loosely) based on your purchases. One time, I bought my Grandmother (who is no longer with us) some Effordent. The next thing I know, I’m getting all kinds of coupons in the mail for things that I don’t need in my life (as of yet). I offered them to my Grandmother (and even my mother) but neither one could use the coupons either. So yeah – I tend not to want to deal with extra junk in my mail box.
  
  Report this comment
- LostInTheSpin
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 7:42pm
  Great, 3-blue, give me your address to use so you can have my portion of junk mail.
  
  Report this comment
- SendTheMeteors
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 9:15pm
  You guys know me and know that I’m a straight shooter. I know that you believe that, despite the foiled terrorist attacks you read about, the real target is you. I’ve read the sentiments expressed here: the government is out to get you, enslave you, put you in a FEMA camp, take away your guns, your freedom and then your life. Okay, that’s fine. Whatever.
  
  But the people gathering and using the information on you are mostly capitalist companies like Google, Facebook, your service provider, your bank, your credit card company and so on. Ever checked to see what “cookies” are on your computer with a Ad-Aware or SpyBot or any other program of that type? If you haven’t there are probably – literally – a thousand. And each of those cookies are tracking your internet use. Every website you visit knows with pretty good accuracy where you live. Check here and, no it’s not a bad website: http://whatismyipaddress.com/
  
  Businesses collect and sell your internet use, credit card use and so on with every electronic transaction you make. Got one of those discount cards for your grocery store? Every single thing you buy, when you bought it and how much you spend is kept and used for marketing purposes.
  
  Sorry, capitalist companies are actually the ones collecting your habits, where you travel, when you shop and what you buy, and what websites you visit and how long you stay. It’s capitalism.
  
  But, uh, sure, there’s that FEMA camp thing too.
  
  Report this comment
- 3-Blue
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:48pm
  SendTheMeteors: What a good little Left wing propagandist you are. I’m sure your mom would be very proud. You and your ilk are so deluded and demented. No, really. You Lefties can fear the life blood of freedom if you like; business, but businesses are not in the habit of killing off their customers. It’s bad for business. They’re not averse to taking your money but that is seldom fatal or detrimental to your good health.
  
  Governments and rulers on the other hand have a long and proven track record all throughout history of confiscating (stealing) wealth, killing, torturing, imprisoning, enslaving and murdering on a mass scale. It always starts off innocently enough. (We’ll take over health care because the government can run it better than you.)
  
  But when government grows beyond a certain limit it ceases to be about serving the people from which it sprang and becomes solely about its own survival. We are so very much there now. What will a huge and parasitic government do to preserve its power and its existence? Anything. Anything at all within its power to do. The members of that government will justify their actions any way they have to.
  
  Report this comment
- 3-Blue
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 11:00pm
  It’s a long term proposition. The destruction of the Constitution began over a hundred years ago. Bush aided it and the Obama regime is on Constitution destruction steroids. Opposition is dealt with first by propaganda and ridicule (like what you do). Then with increasingly onerous laws and finally with oppression and murder. From there it gets worse. The Great Pretender may not be the one to deliver the fatal blow to the once beautiful United States of America but he has set the stage for further takeover of the people by the government. The regime which finally does it might be Right Wing. Wouldn’t you feel stupid then, Meteors?
  
  You see Meteors, unfortunately you are merely a useful idiot for the government. A paid fool who buys his present through the destruction of the future. No doubt you are well educated and you are a thinker. But in reality, you are only helping to secure the destruction of humanity and a life worth living. It’s very sad but there are many, many fools like you who cannot see the forest for the trees. When you finally comprehend the folly of your ways it will probably be too late.
  
  Report this comment
- 3-Blue
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 11:05pm
  We are all in the process of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. We are all such fools and one day soon we will all rue these days of lies, inaction, wrongheaded action and delusion. It really is very sad. So you just keep on mindlessly being a contrary force against truth and Freedom. We will all pay dearly in our own ways.
  
  Oh and by all means continue fearing business. Please bring more meaning to the phrase; ‘penny wise and pound foolish’. Yeah, nothing to fear from government. Huge, all powerful government is great! Move along. Nothing to see here. Seig Heil!
  
  Report this comment
- Sparky77
  Posted on March 21, 2013 at 2:06am
  3-BLUE has it down. Go 3!
  
  Report this comment
- TurboCat
  Posted on March 21, 2013 at 2:42am
  That sounds similar to what I do to phone callers asking for money. I start telling them all of my problems and when I don’t have any problems, I make some up. Then, they cannot wait to get off the phone from me and never call back. Sometimes I do it just to amuse myself.
  
  Report this comment
- mersey
  Posted on March 21, 2013 at 7:46am
  Sendintheclowns, just wondering if you can give me your zip code? It’s a capitalist thing. By the way, you’re now on the government watch list because you identified yourself as a “straight shooter.” Wow, the internet regularly spies on people. Who would have known? Good thing we have community college brainiacs like yourself to let us simpletons in on the secrets of the modern world. I’m going back to morse code!
  
  Report this comment
- JoshinIN
  Posted on March 21, 2013 at 8:16am
  Ditto. We always give out an incorrect zip code and/or phone number when asked at the register.
  
  Report this comment
- Inform
  Posted on March 21, 2013 at 9:24am
  thorkyl, hahaha. Love it. Put those tax dollars to some good use!
  
  Report this comment
AtomSmashers
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:56pm
We’re beyond the point of no return. Give it out it’s too late.

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Midwest Blonde
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:52pm
Once in a while I purchase items at a (chain) electronics store – the last item was a tracfone – for cash. The cashiers at the store ALWAYS ask for your name (it will print on your receipt) and my name is always “Cash Sale”. It ****** them off but they don’t need to know who I am when it’s cash, and if they ask what my zip code is – I ask what the zip for this town is (as I live in a different town).

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.rjk
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:48pm
The credit card gives them your full name, the zip code gives a 99% accurate address.

Reverse internet lookup in telemarketers computer program, and boom you dinner is interrupted.

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Touchy Touchy Touchy
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:45pm
Who cares? Put the catalog in the recycling container.

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- RIDEMODELS
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 4:57pm
  I care……..I want the USPS to drive trucks that will turn into Asteroid Destroying Space Ships…..That way I would feel safe and the USPS driver will earn his or her money respectively.
  
  Report this comment
LameLiberals
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:44pm
ANSWER …..THIS…..RIDDLE

Why is it ILLEGAL for private companies (who take money from private advertisers) to spam my PRIVATE email mail box with junk mail (the feds arrest/prosecute the worst offenders)

BUT

it is NOT illegal for federal postal workers (who are GOVERNMENT workers paid by PRIVATE advertisers ) to SPAM my PRIVATE curbside snail mail mailbox with spam?

ANSWER: There is NO difference.

HYPOCRITES!!! The federal government is ALLOWED to profit by spamming my private curbside mailbox and they PENALIZE private companies from doing the SAME THING to my private email mail box.

Save the planet – FIRE THE POST OFFICE. Sell them to any AMERICAN ONLY OWNED company like UPS or Fed Ex and get the post office employees/bureaucracy OFF taxpayers dole.

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- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:52pm
  I agree that the USPS has passed it’s stage of usefulness but both SPAM and junk-mail are perfectly legal. It’s never been a crime to solicit business via either.
  
  Report this comment
- ardypenn
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:55pm
  If the private deliverers seriously wanted letter-mail biz, they’d be all over the media spouting about what they’d charge for that service. I’m waiting, folks…
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:59pm
  ARDYPENN…
  
  or what?
  you won’t send X-mas cards anymore?
  
  let it be a self-sustaining business or not exist at all.
  
  Report this comment
- LameLiberals
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:21pm
  ardypenn
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:55pm
  
  If the private deliverers seriously wanted letter-mail biz, they’d be all over the media spouting about what they’d charge for that service. I’m waiting, folks…
  ___________
  Here is your response.
  
  No PRIVATE company wants to go into the black smith business or the carriage business either because LIKE the post office – it is OLD FASHIONED/ARCHAIC. Stick a fork in it already.
  
  BUT just like there are still a few black smiths around and the Amish still make a few carriages – a niche business will deliver SNAIL mail – it may cost more – BUT SO WHAT. THAT is what the market will bear. Use Fed Ex/UPS to mail boxes and pay your bills on-lines OR pay the full market value of a PRIVATE company to deliver your PRIVATE mail to your PRIVATE mail box.
  
  Report this comment
- LameLiberals
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:42pm
  Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:52pm
  
  I agree that the USPS has passed it’s stage of usefulness but both SPAM and junk-mail are perfectly legal. It’s never been a crime to solicit business via either.
  _________
  
  A ton of the SPAM we get is illegal.
  http://tcattorney.typepad.com/techlaw/2012/01/internet-attorney-timothy-walton-discusses-the-federal-can-spam-act-of-2003.html
  
  Report this comment
- thorkyl
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:47pm
  Simplest way to deal with junk mail.
  Take the prepaid card and tape it to a brick and send it back
  
  Report this comment
- RIDEMODELS
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 4:55pm
  The USPS is way way over rated….I get it they are someones grandma and grandpa but if there were some way to turn their trucks into Asteroid Killing Space Ships to obliterate asteroids headed to earth then maybe they would be worth the money…..But every woman I know likes the UPS shorts…and I got a pretty hot looking UPS girl that delivers.
  
  What we need in this country is innovation…..read my lips innovation…..not Regulation……Innovation not Regulation….!!
  
  And just for the record. innovation is not building the bigger and better BONG……
  
  Report this comment
- BudgetAnalyst
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 8:08pm
  The USPS has already been privatized. By law it can no longer be funded by taxes. This happened many years ago.
  
  Report this comment
blanco5
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:36pm
They ask for your email, phone number, zip code….I just say a friendly, “No thanks!”

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- HAWKWIND
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:10pm
  BLANCO – same here. I usually ask “do you really need that?”, and the answer is always “well, no but…”
  
  Then give me my receipt and let me the heck outta here!
  
  Report this comment
tomf
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:23pm
I give them a ZIP code for a small pacific island,96799 or Point Barrow,Alaska. As long as it is a valid Zip code it goes thru. Lets see if we can get a walmart opened at Point Barrow 99723

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- mr_ness
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:25pm
  I will do that next time for sure thanks for the advice
  
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Mstr Smith
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:18pm
I used to be in the military overseas….I give them that zip code & tell them I’m on vacation ;)

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GoodStuff
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:10pm
Just say NO! Or use cash.

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brigott
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:06pm
I’ve been told that stores request zip codes so that they can determine how far their customers are driving.

That information helps them target which neighborhoods are supplying customers so the company can better determine where additional stores would best be built.

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moreteaplease
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:51pm
Eventually, any protections the consumer may now have, or the American people in general for that matter, will be chipped away at until they have been totally removed.

Then the federal government can monitor every move you make, where you regularly dine out at ( to see if it meets Moosy’s requirements ), where you shop, what you buy, what your spending habits are, how much gas you regularly purchase ( so the Greenie’s can target you for having that SUV or Hummer that is killing the eco-system.

Sounds stupid right? So did a lot of the commonplace stuff going on now that wasn’t 30-40 years ago.

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- SendTheMeteors
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:23pm
  Your fears are misplaced. Already Google, Facebook, your service provider, the stores where you shop, your credit card company and so on are tracking your spending habits and online activities.
  
  And if you are worried about consumer protection, you should write your Republican Congressman and tell him or her to stop filibustering nominees for the Consumer Protection Bureau, without which that agency can’t operate. Why are they doing that? Because “consumer protection” means banks and other large companies can’t rip you off as easily. Republicans will always side with the rich rather than the poor. That’s the Republican platform.
  
  So, yeah, worry about the Government if ya want. Or aliens, whatever you’d like. But as far as losing consumer protections or collecting private information, all you have to do is figure out who makes money off that. And that’s banks and other businesses, the guys Republicans are looking out for.
  
  Report this comment
- SimpleTruths
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:29pm
  So what your saying is you want MORE/STRONGER protections right? And who do you propose should undertake and be accountable for that responsibility? Oh wait we have someone already – the Consumer Protection Agency, the very one that most of you want to eliminate.
  
  Another example of right-wing logic on display.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:30pm
  lol METEORS…
  
  You sound like THE BORG…. give EVERYONE your personal info because “Resistance is Futile”.
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:48pm
  Sorry, SendtheJZS and Simpleton. That’s not the role of the federal govt. Go back to fapping at pictures of dead babies.
  
  Report this comment
- SendTheMeteors
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:11pm
  00100111, yes it is, as well as other government provided protections you take for granted.
  
  In the old days, for example, if you got injured at work, you simply got fired. If you didn’t like working in an environment breathing carcinogens, you got fired.
  
  The government operates on behalf of Americans. Not just rich Americans.
  
  Report this comment
- RaydocX
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:24pm
  Ah, meteors, you describe the reason unions came into being… to protect the worker from predation of the employer.
  
  but absolute power corrupting absolutely, the same unions now take money from the employees and the employers, and are not really concerned with protecting the jobs of the workers, so much as their own profit and power… there is no consideration of just firing, or of taking so much from a company that the company fails.
  
  it’s all on a pendulum, and the Left pretending they are nice and conservatives are mean no longer applies, when the mechanisms you want in place are what are creating and exacerbating the problems, be it the Fed, government, unions, the educational system, the UN… and a litany that i would rather not dwell upon.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:24pm
  Baloney, METEORS… the government operates to perpetuate it’s own existence…. or else every independently wealthy government employee would happily work for minimum wage.
  Your argument about back injuries were solved by the insurance industry, not government.
  Your argument about breathing carcinogens is bull because nobody is forced to take a job in a smokey environment.
  It’s like strippers complaining that their job puts them at risk of pneumonia because they are under-dressed.
  
  Report this comment
- SpeckChaser
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 4:17pm
  Meteors
  
  Could you give us 5 examples of negative effects bestowed on the country by the hands of democrat or liberal policies? Nothing big…just 5?
  
  Report this comment
- SendTheMeteors
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 8:56pm
  RaydocX, I think you’ve grasped the concept of checks and balances, something the Founders depended on when writing the Constitution. Yes, the pendulum swings and thank goodness it swings back after going too far in one direction. That doesn’t happen in countries who don’t hold freedom dear.
  
  Yes, unions have cut their own throats and run businesses into the ground. That’s true. And right now Republicans have managed to shut down the government by preventing any legislation at all to pass. That’s a situation too that will self-correct, as it started to do in the 2012 elections.
  
  Anyway, good for you for grasping the same concept our Founders understood 200 years ago. Checks and balances. That’s what we want, to prevent some special interest group for making decisions for the rest of us. Not sure about all your comments, but that was a good one.
  
  Report this comment
- SundayShooter
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 9:36pm
  @Speckchaser: Need to limit the scope of Democrat damage, too much to cover in one comment.
  
  Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the independent ‘Trust Fund’ and put it into the general fund so that Congress could spend it?
  
  A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically controlled House and Senate.
  ———— ——— ——— ——— ———
  Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?
  
  A: The Democratic Party.
  ———— ——— ——— ——— ———
  Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social
  Security annuities?
  
  A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the ‘tie-breaking’ deciding vote as President of the Senate, while he was Vice President of the US.
  ———— ——— ——— ——— ——— –
  Q: Which Political Party decided to start
  giving annuity payments to immigrants?
  
  AND MY FAVORITE:
  
  A: That’s right!
  
  Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.
  Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65, began to receive Social Security payments! The Democratic Party gave these payments to them, even though they never paid a dime into it!
  ———— — ———— ——— —– ———
  Then, after violating the original contract (FICA), the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away! Don’t get me wrong; both parties are against liberty, one is not better than a
  
  Report this comment
- SpeckChaser
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 11:35pm
  Meteors,
  
  Your last post was quite ironic. You say you want checks and balances and also want the pendulum to swing back to a democrat led house, eliminating the only check to one party rule.
  
  Report this comment
- SendTheMeteors
  Posted on March 21, 2013 at 1:14pm
  Spec, actually you’re wrong. What we all want are legislators who have higher goals than simply to shut down the government, filibuster every cabinet or judicial nominee, and generally stop the government in it’s tracks, hoping that their fortunes will improve at the next election.
  
  What we mostly want is to get rid of anyone who holds a metaphorical gun to the head of Americans and the world and say, “Give us what we want, or we’re going to destroy the world economy by not letting the government pay bills that it already owes.” The Founders are rolling over in their graves I’m sure.
  
  Report this comment
Strajulius
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:50pm
Big Brother is everywhere, in every guise! We are truly becoming “One Nation, Under Surveillance!”

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Dancing_In_The_Ruins
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:48pm
I usually just give them a made up zip code, for addresses 1313 Mocking Bird Ln, Mocking Bird Heights works well. Most people just don’t get it and those that do laugh.

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- radiobob
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:35pm
  I own that movie. Sitting Pretty with Clifton Webb. He was the baby sitter at 1313 Mocking Bird Lane.
  
  Report this comment
- Buckhuntr
  Posted on March 21, 2013 at 12:50am
  Herman and Lilly thank you for remembering!!
  
  Report this comment
Secret Squirrel
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:47pm
Just cheerfully give out the information but transpose a few digits.

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micko77
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:36pm
As an IL resident near IA, I must provide my ZIP and FOID to purchase ammo, components such as powder, primers, even brass in stores nearby. I’ve considered using a false ZIP, but then would be making a fraudulent, likely illegal purchase. Another 25 miles into IA I never get asked. My kids scratched their heads at this while growing up; I could never offer them a good explanation except “That’s Chicago at work”.

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Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:31pm
I tell them my phone number is 911 and my zip code is 90120

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Eastinfection
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:19pm
Whenever they ask “Zip-Code?” or “Email?”…
My response is always “No thanks”.

The next question is usually “debit or credit?”
My answer is always “CASH”.

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- GhostOfJefferson
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:32pm
  This is correct, as it was foretold in the prophesies. :)
  
  Report this comment
- thelema322
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:43pm
  Everyone is out to get you!
  
  Report this comment
- Motoko53
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:58pm
  Exactly what I have been doing for several years now. Every once in a while I occasionally have to explain why to the clerk. When it happened a few years ago at Best Buy, they relented when I made it loudly clear (so that others in line could benefit from the privacy lesson) that I was willing to leave the store without buying their stuff if they continued to insist on obtaining my information.
  
  In today’s world, information is power. Don’t give it to anyone who does not need to have it.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:10pm
  THELEMA322…
  
  It’s not about people being “out to get me”.
  
  It’s about people requesting personal information that is none of their business.
  
  Report this comment
termyt
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:14pm
I am not the least bit worried about this. Targeted marketing is more efficient and less expensive than letter-bombing the entire neighborhood.

I would be cautious, like in a previous story, linking myself to tobacco, alcohol, or firearms, but for every day purchases, big deal.

What’s one more piece of junk mail?

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- warhorse_03826
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:39pm
  “What’s one more piece of junk mail?”
  
  a good way to get the woodstove goin’. that’s all I use it for.
  
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grimjack3791
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:13pm
Oh no, I might get a catalog in the mail! THE HORROR!

These kind of first-world problems are the reasons the Islamists hate us so much. Spoiled rotten children bitching about unwanted mail.

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- YesLiberalsAreThatDumb
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:10pm
  Yeah, I heard that is the NUMBER ONE REASON THAT THE MUSLIM TERRORIST HATE US…
  
  MORON.
  
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- grimjack3791
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:27pm
  Yes, first world excess IS a huge part of the reason they hate us. Pay attention.
  
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AquamanSucks
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:09pm
I had to give my zip code to sign up for this site.
Guess I learned something right off the get go.

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- JRook
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:30pm
  And your email and perhaps liz can explain what information is collected by the 22+ third party tracking cookies that are loaded by this site. There is a special level of integrity for those who question the integrity of others while they essentially are doing the same things. At least Target asks for the information. It doesn’t place a third party tracking device in your shopping bag.
  
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- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:32pm
  You didn’t have to give out YOUR Zip-code….
  
  you could have typed in 5 random numbers….
  
  don’t tell me you actually fill out the personal info stuff with REAL info when you sign up for sites?
  Got SPAM?
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:34pm
  JROOK… every site does this, and you know it.
  
  You can kill those cookies. Only suckers get tracked.
  
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- AquamanSucks
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:46pm
  @Eastinfection
  
  bazinga (:
  
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- JRook
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:23pm
  @Eastinfection Really thanks Einstein. Try occasionally reading and thinking beyond the superficial as you missed the point. the staff here writing in contempt of Target for asking for your zip code and tracking you that loads 22+ third party tracking cookies…. tells you a lot about who and what they are in terms of character, professionalism and integrity. Arrogant enough to think people are stupid enough to not notice they are guilty of much worse intrusions into people’s information.
  
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- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:35pm
  Whoa JROOK..
  
  Did my reply really require a hostile response?
  Chill out homey.
  My whole point was that this crap is common practice.
  Divulge your info at your own risk.
  
  Report this comment
- AquamanSucks
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:44pm
  Guys. It was just a joke.
  I was being a SA
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:45pm
  AQUAMAN…
  
  I believe you’re sitting in my seat. Everyone knows that it’s my seat ;)
  
  Report this comment
- AquamanSucks
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:48pm
  @Eastinfection
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rl46Dpy-P4
  
  Report this comment
- 00100111
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:50pm
  Awww, rookie’s butthurt.
  
  Report this comment
- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:57pm
  aqua…
  
  lol. C’est toi? mon ami?…. lol!
  
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TuPQvzO5Js
  
  Report this comment
- The-Monk
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:09pm
  Hi East,
  
  That was Sri Ramana Maharshi’s question…
  
  “Who am I”. : )
  
  Report this comment
- AquamanSucks
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:10pm
  @Eastinfection
  
  lol
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JmcA9LIIXWw
  
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- Eastinfection
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:36pm
  Hi Monk!.. or should i say good morning? noticed you were at it kinda late last night.
  
  lol AQUA… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhYzEu-OJDo
  
  Report this comment
cessna152
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:59pm
merchants cannot legally require of consumers:

Any personal information, including address and telephone number, on any form associated with the credit card transaction when the consumer uses a credit card to pay for goods or services;
_____________________________________________________________________________

I ain’t worried out the businesses having this information but I’m very concerned with the GOVERNMENT HAVING THIS INFORMATION. Who keeps them in check?

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- Mr. H.
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:47pm
  The IRS already has it plus your tax ID=social security number, and the DoJ mines that data along with your financials. Pay Cash! CCW!
  
  Report this comment
PK_SEA
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:54pm
Just give a fake zip code.

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- CatB
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:09pm
  ;-) that’s what I do … we are a tourist area .. they haven”t got a clue.
  
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- spirited
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 1:16pm
  Or, the old:
  Give me your phone number and I’ll get back to you.
  ;^>What’s the best time to call you at home?
  
  ~>Show me your and (maybe) I’ll show you mine.
  
  Report this comment
- Mikes MuuMuus - Home of the Big Boy Burqa
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 10:15pm
  The best defense is offense. I say mix it up. Garbage-In, Garbage-out. If we all give them fake information, eventually the marketers will quit buying the junk data.
  Have fun with it. See if you can give’em a different zip code from each State alphabetically. Then start over. I just used a Wisconsin zip code for the third time. Next up; 82201.
  
  Report this comment
media-bias-steals-elections
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:54pm
Just give them a zip code for another county, what they don’t know, won’t hurt them?

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- sparkyrules
  Posted on March 22, 2013 at 9:43am
  good idea
  
  Report this comment
Nevermind
Posted on March 20, 2013 at 12:51pm
This is a huge pet peeve of mine, i refuse to give out any info when buying a product in the stores. I tell people i am there to exchange my money for their product not to exchange information. I wont give you my phone number , zip code, email address or anythign else requested. I have asked the clerk for their home phone # at times when it was requested of me and they said they cant give it out and i said ” exactly” .

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- 00100111
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 2:52pm
  That’s a long diatribe to give someone making minimum wage when a simple “no thanks” will suffice. The cashier doesn’t care about your life story, bud. Just say no, and go. See how easy that was?
  
  Report this comment
- Pontiaku
  Posted on March 20, 2013 at 3:11pm
  What’s the big deal? My zip code is 90210.
  
  Report this comment

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