PRIVACY IS DEAD

PRIVACY IS DEAD

I just hung up the phone with my realtor; he found me a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico at a bargain price. I'm so fed up with things around here, I told him I'd make an offer.
All that I'm looking for is little privacy. I am in no way a hermit, or anti social person, I just don't want everything I say and do, to show up on the front page of the Wall Street Journal ( however being a writer, I would be happy to contribute a few articles for a small fee).
I never thought it would come to this but personal privacy is quickly becoming a thing of the past. Hundreds of seemingly minor and unrelated invasions of our privacy add up to a total loss of privacy. More importantly we have to deal with the issue of some person, company, or government agency, misusing this information.
Before you think I'm getting a little paranoid here, just hear me out. Never before in history has there been the technological or data storage capacity to accumulate a detailed picture of each of our lives. When, not if, an individual or group decides to tie together all that information, they could use it for any purpose they see fit.
Let’s use a hypothetical situation, like an average day in your life, to help make my point. Assume for a moment that a fictitious individual (Dr. Evil) had the means to gather, store, and analysis all your personal information and he wanted to use this against you. Here is how he might go about it.
You seem like a nice enough guy, I can see here by checking public records you are a graduate of University of Miami (hey..Dean's List..nice work). A quick search of county records tells me you've got quite the lead foot, 2 speeding tickets (you gott'a slow down buddy..those points on your license can really drive up you insurance rates). Also while I was checking on line records, you seem to be an avid fisherman, hunter, and gun owner; because you have obtained licenses and permits for all of these activities. Oh, and while I was checking the county records I zipped on over to the county property appraisers web site and typed in your name. It seems like you got a great deal on that 2,600 sq. ft house you bought in July of '02 for $152,900. (by the way, I also now have the names of your neighbors)
We can easily assume that I know where you live, heck any phone book or people search could get me that info. In fact I just jumped on Google earth and typed in your address so not only do I have directions to your home, but I have a fairly recent satellite photo and a very detailed street level 360 degree picture of your home. You probably didn’t see the Goggle camera truck that photographed your neighborhood. (hey, that bush on the right of your door needs trimming). Your car is in the driveway and I can see it is a late model Ford with the license plate # (ok..I'll keep that quite for now).
By the way, I took a little drive by your house last week and after only a few visits, I feel like we are old buddies. I hope you don't mind but I grabbed your mail for you on Wednesday and I have to tell you it was like hitting the lotto. I now know your bank account number, checking balance, insurance carrier and that it’s your birthday (gott’a love that mother of your, nice card..and the $20 bucks cash was much appreciated). Also, that copy I have of your phone bill is fantastic, now I have the phone numbers of most of your family and friends. Not to mention that copy of your cable bill, I even know what you watch on T.V.( better take it easy on that pay for view stuff) The best part is that, I didn't even have to use the high tech equipment I own that can monitor your computer usage, because you are foolish enough to use a non encrypted wireless network at your house.( I can tap right in from out front of your house) As a bonus, I picked up all your web sites and even your passwords. I love technology; I don't even have to search thru people’s trash anymore to get all this info.( I never liked that part of the job anyway)
The good thing for me is that your late model car has satellite radio and GPS installed in it..Great invention, that GPS, you can tell exactly where you are at any given time, but so can I. Well, you pull out of your nice suburban neighborhood and I'm tracking you on your own GPS (hey slow down buddy, because I can even see how fast you are going, not to mention having the ability to turn off your car and lock or unlock the doors). Ok, I can tell by where you are heading that you are on your way to work at the local I HOP, but just to be sure I checked the traffic cameras at a few of your local major intersections (smile for the camera)…
And, you are so predictable, a real creature of habit. It's 5:30 pm and your car ignition has been off for 8 hours and 5 minutes (oh yes, I get that info from your car also)..By the way your built in maintenance computer is telling me your car needs an oil change in 200 miles( you need to stay on top of that if you want your car to last). Here's where it gets interesting, you've left work and wouldn't you know my GPS tracker is down for maintenance right now. No problem, I have your cell phone records right here on my screen. You just called your girl friend at (ok..I'll keep that info quiet for now, until your wife's attorney asks me for that info). I can also tell where you are right now by seeing what cell towers your phone is accessing. It may not be as accurate as my GPS gimmick, but its close enough for government work ( note: Freudian slip). By the way, I bet you didn't know that I could turn your cell phone into a listening device, without you even knowing it…shhh.
Must be a big date night, you just stopped at the ATM on the corner of Main and 1st street and withdrew $300 bucks (plus a $1.95 service fee). I wonder where your off to, you shifty fell'a, you turned off your cell phone for a while, probably so the wife couldn't call you. That's ok, I'm a patient kind of guy, it won't be long. See what I mean, I just checked your bank records on line, and a charge on your credit card just showed up for $167.95 at the local high end Italian restaurant (they have an excellent lasagna there, I hear). You really should watch your spending, I recently pulled a copy of your credit report and you need to get that credit score back up, it will affect the interest rate you have to pay on your next loan.

Well, not a bad night's work for me. I have invaded your privacy and have gathered a ton of personal information about you. Of course, that doesn't mean that I would actually use any of that information does it ? Well, not unless it benefited me financially. This kind of intel could be worth real money, if you ever decided to run for political office, or perhaps your ex wife's attorney would paid me for what I know. The truth is I have a lot more data in my file about you and I have many more resources I can use to gather that information at my disposal. I really don't want to give away all my trade secrets, but I think you get the idea….Privacy Is Dead.

Please feel free to contact me at: pooritalianboy@gmail.com

P.I.B.