Your Shopping Behavior

The Leak: Supermarket “loyalty” cards. These offer discounts in exchange for the right to record your shopping habits. This type of data may be shared with marketers and used to send you “targeted” advertising. It can also be subpoenaed in criminal, divorce, and child-custody proceedings.

The Plug: If possible, patronize stores that don’t use these cards but offer the same sales and specials to everyone who shops there. Or, if you must shop at a store with a card program (and they are becoming more common), try registering with a fake name (“Jane D. Shopper”) and address, and supply only as much other information as the store absolutely requires. You can also fill out most of your real information, but leave off, for example, your apartment number or area code, so that companies won’t be able to contact you in the future. “Hold firm if they give you a hard time,” says Beth Givens, director of the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer advocacy and information organization in San Diego. “Tell them you’d like to shop at their store and receive cardholder discounts but you’re not comfortable giving out personal information.”


The Leak: Product registration cards and sweepstakes forms.

The Plug: Just don’t do it. Many consumers confuse the product-registration card that comes in the box with that new coffeemaker, DVD player, or washing machine with a warranty card. It may not have anything to do with the product warranty — it’s just a sneaky way of collecting your name, address, and any other juicy tidbits that can be used to build your profile in someone’s marketing database. A receipt documenting your purchase of the item is often all you need to be eligible for warranty coverage. If you do want the manufacturer to have your contact information — if, say, you’re buying a child’s car seat and you want to be notified of a safety recall — fill out only the top half of the registration card, not the part with questions about other products you own, how much you earn, what kind of car you have. And look closely for a box to check to opt out of receiving unsolicited marketing materials. Sweepstakes forms (distributed through the mail and online) “are a vehicle for obtaining names and other information for marketers,” says Givens. “Yes, there might be prize, but the odds are stacked against you.” Do you want to give up private information for a slim chance of winning a prize? The junk mail and telemarketing calls you’ll receive as a result are a high price to pay.