Secret Lives of Voters
Is your social security number online for the world to see?
That's the question I ask in all letters to editors across the US. It's provocative and alarming and meant to be, because the potential loss of your most personal, lifelong idenitifier should be alarming and always is to any rational human being.
Such was the body of a letter sent to the local paper in beautiful Salisbury, North Carolina. Let me inject here that the collective response to such an editorial is always either overwhelming agreement from the public - or - a scathing rebuttal letter from some short-sighted local who thinks I'm dissing his local register of deeds.
The latter was the first, swift reply in Salisbury. I had it all wrong about this lady, she was a fine person, who was I to challenge her wisdom, on and on it read. Wow, this guy really took it personally, and who knows why?
Days later I was still wondering if he even got my message when a friend called.
"Hey, remember that guy who blasted you in the Post last week?" she asked. "Yeah," I said, and started to question his intention again but was cut off by evil laughter. "You won't believe it! He filed a document right after that and wrote in bold caps across the top not to publish it, and I JUST SAW IT ONLINE!"
Well, well, well. I'll admit it, I smiled and then clicked for all of 5 seconds before seeing it with my own eyes and there, big as day, was his deed with these words across the top, "PLEASE DO NOT PUBLISH"
Unable to resist, I called him bright and early Sunday morning. His sweet little wife answered and passed the phone to him. "I know you all are getting ready for church so I won't take but a minute," I said after introducing myself.
"First of all, I want you to know I don't have a thing in the world against your current registrar. For all I know she's a fine person who's doing a fine job. The only problem I have is that she's sold out her entire county and putting everyone in danger by publishing their information online."
"Well, all you have to do is tell her not to publish something and she won't!" he huffed.
I went on. "But sir, I'm sitting here looking at a deed you just recorded, online, and it says across the top, 'Please Do Not Publish' and again, I'm looking at it, right this minute, online."
All was quiet for just a moment before he snapped, "I don't care!" and hung up.
Now I should probably tell you who this man was and where to see his comedy of errors, but I won't because I really do care about his security. And whether he'll admitit or not, he does care and now realizes that his registrar doesn't.
If you'd like to know what your local registrar has published about you online - whether you wanted them to or not - just get in touch. I'll be happy to check your records free of charge.
www.FindMyID.com
That's the question I ask in all letters to editors across the US. It's provocative and alarming and meant to be, because the potential loss of your most personal, lifelong idenitifier should be alarming and always is to any rational human being.
Such was the body of a letter sent to the local paper in beautiful Salisbury, North Carolina. Let me inject here that the collective response to such an editorial is always either overwhelming agreement from the public - or - a scathing rebuttal letter from some short-sighted local who thinks I'm dissing his local register of deeds.
The latter was the first, swift reply in Salisbury. I had it all wrong about this lady, she was a fine person, who was I to challenge her wisdom, on and on it read. Wow, this guy really took it personally, and who knows why?
Days later I was still wondering if he even got my message when a friend called.
"Hey, remember that guy who blasted you in the Post last week?" she asked. "Yeah," I said, and started to question his intention again but was cut off by evil laughter. "You won't believe it! He filed a document right after that and wrote in bold caps across the top not to publish it, and I JUST SAW IT ONLINE!"
Well, well, well. I'll admit it, I smiled and then clicked for all of 5 seconds before seeing it with my own eyes and there, big as day, was his deed with these words across the top, "PLEASE DO NOT PUBLISH"
Unable to resist, I called him bright and early Sunday morning. His sweet little wife answered and passed the phone to him. "I know you all are getting ready for church so I won't take but a minute," I said after introducing myself.
"First of all, I want you to know I don't have a thing in the world against your current registrar. For all I know she's a fine person who's doing a fine job. The only problem I have is that she's sold out her entire county and putting everyone in danger by publishing their information online."
"Well, all you have to do is tell her not to publish something and she won't!" he huffed.
I went on. "But sir, I'm sitting here looking at a deed you just recorded, online, and it says across the top, 'Please Do Not Publish' and again, I'm looking at it, right this minute, online."
All was quiet for just a moment before he snapped, "I don't care!" and hung up.
Now I should probably tell you who this man was and where to see his comedy of errors, but I won't because I really do care about his security. And whether he'll admitit or not, he does care and now realizes that his registrar doesn't.
If you'd like to know what your local registrar has published about you online - whether you wanted them to or not - just get in touch. I'll be happy to check your records free of charge.
www.FindMyID.com
posted by Happy at 11:23 PM
1 Comments:
Like that would make a difference if you put that on the top of your document. IT DOESN'T!!!!! It is public record and UNTIL the PUBLIC takes a STAND to get PUBLIC RECORDS OFF THE INTERNET it WILL BE ON THE INTERNET FOR EVERYONE EVERYWHERE TO SEE!!!!
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