Personal Information Removal from Databases. Both Casino and other Businesses.

[mushin]

With security breaches from hacking and Identity theft issues becoming more common due as a result what steps if any can be taken to request that your personal data be scrubbed from these companies. I know that there has been much talk about this and I do feel that in the future we will see more legislation on this topic but does anyone know if there is any steps that someone can take now. Granted you would have to do it for each business.. imagine all those shopper rewards programs that people sign up for and all those casino rewards cards. Would't it be nice to just make them all go away.

[Freightman]

With security breaches from hacking and Identity theft issues becoming more common due as a result what steps if any can be taken to request that your personal data be scrubbed from these companies. I know that there has been much talk about this and I do feel that in the future we will see more legislation on this topic but does anyone know if there is any steps that someone can take now. Granted you would have to do it for each business.. imagine all those shopper rewards programs that people sign up for and all those casino rewards cards. Would't it be nice to just make them all go away.

Very interesting question. The objections raised as to why not to get a card are numerous and valid - identity theft being, in my view, tops among them. I used that one in my last Vegas trip, saying I was affected by the Italiano hack, and no thanks. The ridiculous counter was, we are to small for that.

Somehow, unless legislated to do so, don think you're ever going to get out of that basis. Would be very interested in viewpoints to the contrary.

BTW, when playing unrated, many stores seem fanatical to get your info for a card, immediately prior to back off.

[Jabberwocky]

[QUOTE=Freightman;

BTW, when playing unrated, many stores seem fanatical to get your info for a card, immediately prior to back off.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I encountered that situation once. They don't ever get to see my I.D.

[bigplayer]

Good Luck with that. Used to be casinos deleted players accounts after 24 or 36 months of no activity. With virtually unlimited storage space on computer servers that isn't very common anymore.

[ZenMaster_Flash]

Big player's post is correct.

I walked into a small store that had not seen my face in a decade.

I was 86'd in a matter of minutes.

I had was there [very light green] once before for 30 mins.

[RS]

It would be nice to have them all *POOF* and go away. Unfortunately the sad reality is, like BP said, once you're in a system, you're basically locked in forever. Although people say it all the time, "play unrated, play unrated, PLAY UNRATED!!"....at least for me, in my earlier days, it was hard to justify giving up that extra EV that came in the mail. I know this thread is aimed more at "get your info removed" than "get a fresh card" -- but I'm generally not so interested in having my information disappear from some of the chains, but more interested in getting a new fresh card (under my own name). I've found this to be possible at some properties, but for the most part is largely difficult.

[ZenMaster_Flash]

Bare In Mind . . .

If you are known on sight then playing as a "refusal" is ill-advised.

Playing High Stakes without a card is extremely suspicious, BUT

if they have seen you betting black and above, they'll have photos !

[mushin]

Mind you I am not one for excessive laws or regulations however.... as more and more data is tracked and that is what they are all doing is tracking you. The more bothersome this information becomes to the individual. At some point the privacy of the individual will have to be addressed not to mention how that information is used. Just because someone shops at a grocery or visit a casino does not mean that the store has the right to photograph you and keep a database on you. Granted if you opt into a program then you have given some information and have less to stand on but.... just as you granted permission to have your information you should have the right to revoke the stores right to continue using your data.

At the very minimum I think that at your request a store would have to anonymize you data should you opt out of a loyalty card program. The same should apply to players cards. It is my opinion that this process should delete / delink all personal information (Contact info, pictures, visit information etc.) I do not believe that they can be forced to remove / delete the history collected during the period they were granted permission to collect By de-linking it from the identifying info they still have information they can use for market research.

[Three]

Also, whenever I buy something at a store with my credit card and the cashier asks for a phone # and a zip code I will always give bogus nos

This informations gets the store a lower change for running your card. The less information they have right the higher the service charge interest rate charged to the business by the credit card company. These charges are passed on to consumers and drive prices up. You might want to learn more about why they ask these questions. The correct answers are already in the CC companies data base. If you get enough wrong the card will not be accepted and you will have to pay with another form of payment. It is in everyones best interest to keep the stores overhead down so prices also stay down.

[Three]

I am so very sorry for causing a great rise in the price of merchandise. How much do you figure I owe you?

I never said great but if everyone followed your lead it would start to add up.

[mushin]

This informations gets the store a lower change for running your card. The less information they have right the higher the service charge interest rate charged to the business by the credit card company. These charges are passed on to consumers and drive prices up. You might want to learn more about why they ask these questions. The correct answers are already in the CC companies data base. If you get enough wrong the card will not be accepted and you will have to pay with another form of payment. It is in everyones best interest to keep the stores overhead down so prices also stay down.

TThree,

Where do you get your information from regarding the lower rate to accept cards. I own and business and I have used several credit card processors over the years. At no point has my merchant application ever asked if I keep information on a customer and that if I report said information it would reduce the rate they charge my businesses to accept credit cards. The industry type is the primary factor used to determine the per transaction rate. An industry that is higher risk will have a higher rate. Also an industry that performs "card not present" transaction will typically have a higher rate than a transaction where the card is swiped. This also would not make sense because the bank that issued the individuals card already has the customers address.

In my experience, anything else collected by a merchant is done so for marketing research. This has led to the shopper cards or customer loyalty cards especially for grocery stores. The data collected on these cards is a wealth of information for the store but has nothing to do with the actual payment type. In this case the data is reports (Sold, shared etc) to their suppliers as an additional revenue stream or if not sold used to build a profile of their customers. The information they have regarding our habits is astounding.

I also don't quite believe that they pass any savings on. It retail industries it is all about finding ways to increase you profit margin on a product while charging the highest price the market will allow. I don't think however we can say that the information collection gives stores a better rate for their credit card transactions. The traditional things like type of transaction, industry, chargeback / dispute history, and transaction volume are things that determine the merchant rate.

[Dieter]

This informations gets the store a lower change for running your card. The less information they have right the higher the service charge interest rate charged to the business by the credit card company.

I haven't ever found this to be the case.

There is a different rate charged for a swipe capture vs a manual entry. Pretty sure there's a different rate for credit vs debit. Wouldn't surprise me if we get "chip and pin" credit that will be a different rate, too, and I wouldn't be surprised if there was a contactless (RFID) rate difference as well, even though supposedly it should be the same data as a swipe capture (although, possibly more than just track 2).

Of course, I've been out of that side of the business for 12 years or so now, so my information may be inaccurate.

[Three]

Where do you get your information from regarding the lower rate to accept cards.

Because I own a business. If you don't swipe the card you are quizzed on information about the cardholder. The more you get wrong the higher the percentage you pay. This isn't an issue if you swipe cards. Many businesses do not swipe cards but enter info into a computer. If you ever entered info into a computer to run a card you would be well aware of what I am talking about.

I also don't quite believe that they pass any savings on.

I never said they pass on the savings. I said they take a percentage profit over costs. That is what most businesses do. Some try to make 10% others 15%. So if the cost goes up from $100/unit and a profit of 10% or $10 to a cost of $110/unit, the price it is sold for will go up 11 to keep the 10% profit margin. So you used to pay $110 and then the price goes up to $121 because the overhead to sell the product went up by 10%. Notice the vender makes an extra dollar. His incentive to keep costs down is to beat his competition. He actually makes more if costs goes up and he sticks to a 10% profit margin over costs.

The increased credit card rate only applies to swipes transactions. Like I said you are asked questions like the house number of the CC billing address, the zip code of the billing address and the name and expiration date as it appears on the card along with the 3 digit code on the back. All internet transactions are made this way as they do not possess the card to swipe it. The rate starts at 3 or 3.5% and can get as high as 5 or 6% before the change is rejected entirely. In todays world that includes a large percentage of all purchases. Internet commerce is becoming more and more how things are done. Get with the times.