[Discuss] Most common (or Most important) privacy leaks

[mbr at arlsoft.com (MBR)]

If you're going to tell us all about how the originating company is 
stiffing you, at least tell us the company's name so we can steer clear 
of them.

    Mark Rosenthal

On 2/20/15 10:23 PM, Peter Olson wrote:
> I've been mugged three times, but not recently.
>
> The first time was in Cambridge, about 40 years ago.  I was walking along a
> street and a bunch of kids intersected my path, hit me with something, stomped
> my eyeglasses, and took my wallet.  I got stitches to fix a scalp wound but the
> worst hassle was calling my credit card company and dealing with my lost social
> security card, etc.  And getting new glasses.
>
> The second time was maybe 35 years ago.  I was returning from a dinner party and
> got off the subway in downtown Boston walking about three blocks home and two
> guys stepped out on front of me, one had a knife.  I opened my wallet and gave
> them the money.  They wanted me to go back into an underground subway entrance,
> but I stepped around it into the road and walked quickly back to my apartment
> one block away.
>
> The third time was about twenty years ago.  I got off the subway in Central
> Square, Cambridge, and was going to the bus stop when four kids started
> harassing me.  The object of their affection was apparently my cell phone, which
> was attached to my belt.  I believe they thought it was a Sidekick (
> http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,1630991,00.asp ).  They continued to harass
> me verbally at the bus stop.  One of them played the good guy (I think he was
> the oldest) and I had a limited conversation with him.  One of the younger ones
> asked to borrow my phone so he could call his mother.  I declined.  Later he
> boasted that he could mess me up.  I didn't take that seriously, so I stared him
> down.
>
> After we all got on the bus, everyone sat down. When we got to a popular mall,
> the kids left, and the youngest one tried to steal my phone.  Let me tell you
> about cell phone belt holsters.  When I first got the phone, I had several near
> misses where the holster detached from my belt while I was walking around.  So I
> engineered a more secure attachment with tie wraps.
>
> The kid tried to grab my phone, but it didn't come off my belt :-)
>
> He left, but the other guy was pissed at me and slapped my eyeglasses off my
> head.  I asked fellow passengers to help me find my glasses, and they got them
> back for me.  I then walked to the front of the bus and pointed out the kids (by
> then on the other side of the road) and told him they tried to steal my phone.
>
> In the days following, I wondered what my strategy would be in this situation.
>   I didn't think of any of these ideas at the time, but now I am prepared.
>
> At the bus stop there was a police station two blocks away.  (It's a community
> center these days.)
>
> This was before ubiquitous cell phone usage, but I have heard since that I could
> loudly ask for someone else at the bus stop to call the police.  There were
> plenty of people there who didn't intervene.
>
> The worst thing I could do would be to get off at my normal stop and walk home.
>   But I didn't have to do that, since the kids left at the mall.
>
> I could have gotten off the bus at a stop with a restaurant very close to the
> stop, where I could find refuge.  Then call a cab, in case the kids were
> lurking.
>
> I could have gone to the end of the line, where the kids would have to leave the
> bus but I wouldn't, because I would explain the problem to the bus driver.  If
> he was still alive ;-) j/k
>
> The fourth time was last December.  Oh, wait, there was a fourth time?
>
> I don't know yet, but it involves THE INTERNET.
>
> I ordered an inexpensive 3D plastic filament printer kit, which would take about
> 4 or 5 weeks to deliver but which would arrive around year end.  I was out of
> town for a week and asked the USPS to hold my mail so the delivery wouldn't sit
> on my front steps for days.
>
> When the hold released, I got a sizable box with a note in felt tip (from the
> post office) saying "received without contents" and a form letter apologizing
> for whatever happened to it.  Yes, the box was empty (except for a single sheet
> of blank paper).
>
> The shipment was insured, so a few days elapsed and I was able to get to the
> post office to ask about this and they said that is the responsibility of the
> shipper to file a claim.  The originating company has a ticket system.  O
> frabjous joy!
>
> I filed a ticket, and four or five days later, they closed it to "clear the
> database".
>
> I replied to the ticket which reopened it automatically, and nothing happened.
>   I poked the ticket and got a reply that the ticket master was working on the
> weekend and would have to talk to "Nick" next week.  Nothing happened.  I have
> now asked twice for a refund.  I won't bore you with the exact chronology, but
> repeated complaints including one citing the lack of substantive response in 28
> days has resulting in having the ticket closed again in order to "clear the
> database".
>
> My latest communication points out to the ticket master that the resolving event
> for closing the ticket is the issuance of the refund, not "clearing the
> database".
>
> There has been no reply.
>
> This has certainly been the most time-enhanced mugging I have ever endured :-)
>
> Next step I suppose is communicating with the credit card company.  Ironically,
> the electronic evidence from the trouble ticket is useful.  I have saved it on
> my own computer in case it magically disappears.  The Better Business Bureau
> might be interested, and maybe the FTC, since the ticketing system might be a
> way to avoid regulations about timely response to complaints involving money.
>   Maybe even the USPS, for wire fraud?
>
> I suspect that most victims have better uses of their time than to retaliate
> against a $400 loss.
>
> It's all in the numbers.
>
> Peter Olson
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