Pleeze....your zip code doesn’t give away your name. It’s a mood thing for me. It is indeed for marketing. It’s how we got a Staples in our area!! And it’s great.
Around here they ask for area code. I give them the area code of a place I haven’t lived for 20 years.
If it’s not a big deal to give it, it should be equally “not a big deal” for stores to accept your decision to decline.
And not lock a customer inside the store for refusing to provide it.
Your credit card doesn't contain your address. By getting the zip, your address and identity can be inferred and cross matched against other information sources out the in the world.
Track 1 Data Track Data Value % Start B Format Code (B=Bank) 5XXXXXXXXXXXXXX2 Primary Account Number (PAN) ^ Separator ANTONIEWICZ Last Name / Name Separator BRAD First Name ^ Separator 11 Expiration Year 03 Expiration Month 101 Service Code 000000001000000003000000 Discretionary Data ? End Track 2 Data ; Start Track 2 Data 5XXXXXXXXXXXXXX2 Primary Account Number (PAN) = Separator 11 Expiration Year 03 Expiration Month 101 Service Code 000000300001 Discretionary Data ? End
What Your Zip Code Reveals about You
… NEW YORK (CNNMoney) —Every time you mindlessly give a sales clerk your zip code at checkout,you’re giving data companies and retailers the ability to track everything from your body type to your bad habits.That five-digit zip code is one of the key items data brokers use to link a wealth of public records to what you buy. They can figure out whether you’re getting married (or divorced), selling your home,smoke cigarettes,sending a kid off to college or about to have one.
Such information is the cornerstone of a multi-billion dollar industry that enables retailers to target consumers with advertising and coupons. Yet,data privacy experts are concerned about the level at which consumers are being tracked without their knowledge —and what would happen if that data got into the wrong hands.
Acxiom,one of the biggest data brokers in the business,claims to have a database that holds information —including one’s age,marital status,education level,political leanings, hobbies and income level —on 190 million individuals. Major competitors,like Datalogix and CoreLogic,tout similarly vast databases.
… “For the majority of the country,the zip code is going to be the piece of the puzzle that is going to enable a merchant to identify you,” said Paul Stephens,director of policy and advocacy at the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
They got your name with the credit card. With the zip code they can narrow it down and likely get your home address.