Shopsmith Forums

Hi Ben,

If you didn't enter your birthday when you joined, why would you think anyone would know it if you couldn't find it.

And also, why did ADMIN react to one member so drastically?

beeg wrote:Sorry but I feel about it the same way as Ben. BUT now I live in the third largest ID THEFT city in the country. Also have insurance through Anthem. Home of the millions breach.

What is the third ID theft city and why is it? "ID theft" does not target specific cities as far as I know. So you are one of the millions but have you had any problems because you are one of the millions?

Granted, I have not had my data stolen but how would I know? At least I don't think so since I use my debit and credit cards every where and pay them off every month. I have done this for YEARS and never had a problem.

dusty wrote:No harm done, Ben.

It seems that I owe you an apology and I do certainly apologize. I had no intention of inflicting emotional distress on anyone.

Hi Dusty,
You absolutely DO NOT owe me any sort of apology. It is I who needs to apologize to the members. I feel like I have caused a problem for good friends.
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To answer John, I did not remember whether I did or did not enter a birthdate when joining. Many of the forums I have joined, do require a birthdate entry. I did not want to go through the process of leaving if it was somewhere in a Shopsmith database and I could simply do something to keep it private. Ergo, my PM to the Admin.

I have been a recipient of ID theft (a credit card) and I will guarantee it is not a fun thing, nor does it end quickly. It took more than two years to clear up. Be happy and great full that it has not yet bit you in the backside.

Why the Admin reacted in such a manner I have no direct knowledge, however I find that the Admin is a very competent, responsible and considerate person. I presume it was made for the greater good of the entire forum.

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Back to regularly scheduled program
Anyway, Dusty you are one of the people I hope I get to meet in person someday! I want to shake your hand and thank your for .... A LOT!

Be well,
Ben

I have re-enabled the birthday display. From the posts here, it seems an important feature to many members and that they understand that it is one more piece of information that is being made public.


For anyone who doesn't want their information displayed, you'll need to go into the user control panel and then choose profile. It will allow you to set the month/date/year to "--".

PS: Please do NOT blame the person who asked the question about it recently. I am somewhat "paranoid" about security, and had already been considering removing the display. His note was only a reminder. My personal view is that Target, Home Depot and Anthem should have been a bit more paranoid!

IMHO, no one need apologize to anyone re this chain of events.

As before, it is a personal preference re 'exposure]'.

dusty wrote:Paranoia has set in even here on the forum.

If one does not want his/her birth date to be known, he/she could simply not provide that data.

This sort of information is available in so many different places. Over the years, you have put it there. Every credit application, every job application, every government document, applications to put your kids in school and the list could go on forever. Listing your birth date on the forum where it does not get connected to your SSAN, Address, Telephone # and where it gets tied to a fictitious user name is hardly going to get linked to ID Theft. If you want to know just how vulnerable you are, go checking on the internet for information about yourself and your loved ones.

For a starter: Google just..... your name,your home town

Now go to the your County Treasurer's web site and see how much information you can get there. Start with Property Tax Records.

Dusty
Do you lock your door at night? If so why? Any door can be knocked/kicked in, also unless your house doesn't have windows it is easy to climb in. So the door offers no real protection, yet we all lock them. To me it is the same thing as keeping my info private. Can people find it out but not because I offered it to them.

Besides what is it about birthdays? I haven't celebrated my birthday in years. In our family we do birthdays until the kid grows up and then we stop. Of course we treat each other like it is their birthday everyday.

jsburger wrote:

beeg wrote:Sorry but I feel about it the same way as Ben. BUT now I live in the third largest ID THEFT city in the country. Also have insurance through Anthem. Home of the millions breach.

What is the third ID theft city and why is it? "ID theft" does not target specific cities as far as I know. So you are one of the millions but have you had any problems because you are one of the millions?

Just look at my location. I should have qualified it, but people here are filing their taxes and finding that it's ALREADY been filed.

beeg wrote:

jsburger wrote:

beeg wrote:Sorry but I feel about it the same way as Ben. BUT now I live in the third largest ID THEFT city in the country. Also have insurance through Anthem. Home of the millions breach.

What is the third ID theft city and why is it? "ID theft" does not target specific cities as far as I know. So you are one of the millions but have you had any problems because you are one of the millions?

Just look at my location. I should have qualified it, but people here are filing their taxes and finding that it's ALREADY been filed.

Hey
you think it is bad there you should see what is happening in Florida. This year I think if you lived in Florida you could call and get a special pin number to file your taxes. You didn't have to had filed electronically before to get it. They arrestted one of these jerks and found he collected all kinds of personal info. He said it was taking candy from a sleeping baby.

But Florida does not have a state income tax?