[mythtv-users] OT: Google - big brother? or I going mad?

Brian Wood beww at beww.org
Tue Sep 14 17:02:14 UTC 2010


On Tuesday, September 14, 2010 10:42:17 am Ben Kamen wrote:
> On 9/14/2010 8:42 AM, Jason Sullivan wrote:
> > So, how many people here use credit cards?  Health or Car Insurance?
> > Because whatever you think Google/Facebook may have on you, it's
> > nothing compared to the data that's collected by credit and insurance
> > companies.
> 
> Speaking of credit cards and CREDIT -- and CREDIT Bureaus,
> 
> It's one of the things I've yelled at them for (Equifax IIRC) but
> have decided to start pushing to my local congressman and you should too.
> 
> A company that makes BILLIONS of dollars every year should GIVE me free
> credit tracking (not just reports, which BTW, they make really hard to do
> anyway).
> 
> $49.00/yr or even $2/yr to me is unacceptable for a companies who's sole
> purpose is to sell information about me that can put me at risk.
> 
> Maybe I'm just nuts though.

I guess I'm nuts as well

Then there are the "Free Credit Report" outfits, which of course offer nothing of the sort. You have to sign up for an 
expensive "monitoring" service before you get anything. Of course they have the usual auctioneer voice saying "offer 
applies only with ..." disclaimer, which of course means nothing to most people.

There are ways to get truly free credit information about yourself, but they are intentionally made hard to locate. Of 
course for-money wanys to get the same information about anyone else is easy to find.

Of course the ".com" in "free credit report.com" should tip you off, but most people don't notice it.

Fortunately the characters and the "music" (read: "Noise") they use in their ads was enough to cause me to stay away from 
them.

Advertising claims these days are just totally insane. Go to any software store, you will see a product called "DVD Copy", 
which of course will do no such thing, at least not for any commercial DVD, but thousands of people are tricked into 
buying the product, thinking it might actually do what is stated in large type on the box. If they complain, they risk 
being accused of breaking the law.

It's like "Officer, arrest that man, he sold me bad drugs".

But they get away with it, and make millions.







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