Everyone wants my phone number and I'm sick of it

[cyclopean]

At the risk of going all tin-foil-hat here...
It's already too late. Big Data knows, it won't stop and it's only going to get worse.

Now, what you can do if you still want to join the resistance is this:

It doesn’t know everything and we should all be doing all we can to gum up the gears.

 

[cyclopean]

ersonal privacy has gone. Buy something and you'll get an email the next day. Welcome to the 21st. century.

Not if you pay cash.

 

[cyclopean]

Google/Microsoft and/or Apple has already got all your info and sold it on, anyway.
Then there's Facebook, Twitter etc... and your smartphone/smart tv/Alexa/Siri/smart watch...

As was said in an episode of NCIS a few years back, (paraphrasing) "With all these gadgets spying on everyone, why would we (CIA) waste time and money bugging anyone, anymore?"

They only have all your data if your opsec is terrible.

 

[netgear69]

Yes it is annoying I bought some 400 grit sand paper from a place called toolstation recently retail price about £2.50 cashier was very friendly tapping away on his computer next to the till ringing up my purchase
he then wanted my email address post code and phone number to give me a receipt i said why is that like ? the fella just looked at me in silence just to break the awkwardness i said nah don't need a receipt mate i won't be bringing it back could now sense his hostility like i had just farted in his face as i was about to put my card to the machine he then gruffly asked me would i like to make a donation to charity ? it was only a small amount to round up the difference he didn't tell me which charity and as there was a queue behind me I just agreed at this point i wanted the awkwardness back glared at him and snatched my sandpaper off the counter
I know what these clowns are up to next thing you know you are getting junk mail through the post and in your email inbox

 

[Recce]

It used to be a points card. Then it was my email. Now everywhere I go they want my phone number. Bought some new Nikes the other week, "what's your phone number?"

Why? I don't plan on calling you to discuss my new purchase and I sure don't want you calling me. Can't I just buy a freaking pair of shoes without being prodded for my personal information?

"It's our rewards system"

Guess what lady.. I have my own rewards system. It's called a JOB! I work, they reward me with money, I buy shoes. Pretty neat system indeed. Take your points and stuff em and stay out of my life and let me just buy a pair of shoes from your stupid store? Thaaaanks...

Within the last week I've started replying with, "no thanks" when the cashier says, "and your phone number?" (Not even in the form of a question - it's an expectation - which makes me even more mad). One responded with, "It's just for our points system." I said, "No, it's for people to phone me, and I don't want your points."

Guess I'm a crank. Whatever, I don't care. They're not getting my friggin phone number for their info farming garbage.

Agreed

 

[Milspec]

I am a cranky old guy as well, but I just give them my parents rotary landline number from 40 years ago. They are happy and don't pester me any farther and I never have to worry about marketing calls.

Their employer requires them to ask, so I don't make a scene, just provide a garbage number.

 

[Lef T]

867-5309

 

[Charlie Bernstein]

They're not rude people, or least they don't want to be rude. They do it because the company makes them do it. They're trained to harvest personal information, and the company monitors them to make sure they do.

It's a brave new world. My niece got fired from a movie theater she'd worked at for years. The new owner started requiring staff to "upsell" popcorn. They caught her not doing it and canned her.

I worked at Pier 1 before the Coronocaust. I only handled freight. I refused to work on the sales floor because, among other things, I'd be required to upsell and to to get people to get Pier 1 credit cards. Gimme a break!

So just say no. Don't hold it against clerks and cashiers. They don't like asking any more than you like answering. Hold it against capitalism. It can handle the heat.

 

[guitar_paul1]

My rewards "phone number" is a landline I left behind 2 moves and ten years ago . Still works at the grocery stores and the gas station.
Robot calls seem to come in waves here lately. The Telco seems to have some identified as "probable spam". It helps a little.
At the stores I just say "no thanks" politely and I don't seem to get any push back.
"Congratulation wonderful customer you have been awarded..." emails have lately been evading my spam filters.

Here's something weird:
Google your last (NOT current) phone number. Mine still shows up tied to my name, along with my old work phone number

 

[paulblackford]

I kind of like to tell them "no". Sometimes I'll even give it a couple more 'o's - Nooooo. Also, when people attempt to sell me something door-to-door (siding, solar panels, windows), I just immediately tell them I'm not the homeowner. It gets rid of them quickly.

 

[Milspec]

They're not rude people, or least they don't want to be rude. They do it because the company makes them do it. They're trained to harvest personal information, and the company monitors them to make sure they do.

It's a brave new world. My niece got fired from a movie theater she'd worked at for years. The new owner started requiring staff to "upsell" popcorn. They caught her not doing it and canned her.

I worked at Pier 1 before the Coronocaust. I only handled freight. I refused to work on the sales floor because, among other things, I'd be required to upsell and to to get people to get Pier 1 credit cards. Gimme a break!

So just say no. Don't hold it against clerks and cashiers. They don't like asking any more than you like answering. Hold it against capitalism. It can handle the heat.

That whole "upsell" thing is a rabid issue in every industry....including the medical industry.

When I first went into carpet cleaning, I was told the dark truth. Companies offer a low price in their ads and tell the techs doing the cleaning that if they do not double that price in upsells, they are out of a job. It is factored into the business model and they were not shy about firing people over it. They are one of the most pushy people out there once the get into your house and a lot of the franchises will have a ton of extra charges. If they have to move furniture, if they have to park on the street, if there are stairs, etc.....all comes with added charges.

I used to tell new companies when I lectured at the annual conventions to value their customers instead of targeting them, but it often fell on deaf ears.

 

[pixeljammer]

My smartphone number is on some kind of spam robot dialler.I’m in the UK. I get calls from all over the USA. Different numbers different states. 5 to 10 a day. There’s no one there. They all leave 30 to 40 seconds of silence on my voicemail. I permanently have my phone on silent. I block each number but next day there’s a fresh lot of new numbers calling me.

That’s pretty weird. I assume you have talked to your carrier about it?

 

[pixeljammer]

at least they didnot ask for a semen sample , I dont have a phone

I would sooner give a semen sample than my real phone number.
Google voice to the rescue.

 

[pixeljammer]

My number for these purposes is 800-588-2300.

E M P I R E

12 years in the Windy City.

 

[pixeljammer]

I just got ar my ex-wife’s number for everything. No spam for me!

It’s 303-819-0478 if you need a fake.

 

[Yesyoudidyouare]

I reverted to a flip phone, got another area code, and dont even know my own number.

has solved a TON of issues.

 

[wangdaning]

A lot of these scams are just running bot dialers with spoofed phone numbers. I never answer my phone, no one is calling me. My work had a police officer come to tell us specifically that, do not answer your phone if you are not expecting a call. Most come from outside the country and there is nothing they can do about it or any way they can help if you are scammed.

 

[TC6969]

Bass Pro wanted a clear copy of both sides of my drivers license.

 

[jrblue]

I always say no. I feel bad that salespeople are made to solicit personal information for owners who will then abuse it for their own profit and sell it to others. I'm also careful to check out the details of use of information when making online purchases. The newest trick there is to provide a menu of choices but to set that up so that what looks like denying a use is actually permitting it. I get sick every time I hear some politician saying that government should be run like a business. American big business is run like Russia.
In stores, I started asking the salesperson "How are you?" before they can get out their own required "How is your day going?" and it really makes for a pleasanter, more human interaction. Try it.

 

[zimbo]

Email is worse. Non stop emails and impossible to unsubscribe. Phone you can block.