We are being watched ...

sev112

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So i go to pay me credit card bill online today
A few amazon purchases, some cycling stuff...
And over £1000 of "pending transactions"!!!!!

Turns out someone has been staying at hotels, restaurants, buying insurance and filling up numerous oil tankers with fuel all over Lancashire on my credit card

Credit to mbna, but they automatically worked out which ones were real transactions and which were the fraudulent ones , which impressed me ... And then started to worry me about how much these sorts of algorithms can work out about us.

Also worrying, 3 of the guys I told at work said they just pay their credit card bills on direct debit and not look at their statements !!!???

Worth checking
 
And this is news to you. Why on earth do you think everyone wants to give you a reward card if it's not so they can track exactly what you buy? Between credit card companies and your internet provider they will know just about every thing about your life.

And if you want some real paranoia then the new xbox from Microsoft has a video camera tracking everything going on in your living room, together with a sensor that can track your facial expressions and heart rate.

I think the privacy ship has sailed a long long time ago......
 
Have you not noticed, that, for example, if you go to a car website, then go to a site that supports advetising, the advertising is for the car site you've just been on.

The info from supermarkets from the shopping you buy, the vouchers that come back in the post, they are tailored around your shopping habbits.

You web browsing history can be used in conjunction with your mobile number to alert you on offers that may interest you.

Not sure if this one got off the ground, but shops wanted to use RFID transmitters to send out text messages to people who had bought from the shop, so that when they walked past they would get a text with the latest offers.

And if the big brother thing hasn't got you paranoid already, try sending an email to a friend but throw in a few key words eluding to terrorism and killing a high profile person, then wait for the knock on the door from the police. It has happened. Look up the lyrics to the Clashes song 'Tommy Gun', a few years back the lead singer in a Clash tribute band sent the lyrics to another member of the band, a few weeks later he got a knock on the door by the police and was taken to the local station where he had to explain the words were from a song. The police thought he and his mates were plotting a airplane hijack.

Basically all email is monitored, all forums are monitored. I would dare day if you farted loud enough and smelly enough the powers that be could tell you what you had for breakfast.
 
Not sure if this one got off the ground, but shops wanted to use RFID transmitters to send out text messages to people who had bought from the shop, so that when they walked past they would get a text with the latest offers

Kind of on the same theme, i designed and sold a wireless system to a "retail shop" that scanned for wireless enabled devices, once it picked one up, it tracked it around the entire store with time spent, direction of travel round the shop etc etc. Gave some really interesting data to the client on real habits of their customers in store. Welcome to 2013. "they" know everything about you. and the "they" is now more than just GCHQ... its tesco and your bank etc etc
 
I'm all for it especially CCTV everywhere.............

it's only the criminals that fear it..........

so what if a computer knows what I like and sends me text messages about it or advertising relative to my likes and interests, it's a small price to pay knowing that theres more chance they will know who has committed a serious crime/abduction quicker and maybe save a life.
 
Don't believe CCTV deters hardened 'criminals' in any way... Just opportunistic 'low life's' maybe...

Really detest the use of CCTV in the workplace... Indicates lazy management...
 
We used to shop, roughly every 4th week at Tesco's, mainly for the things they stock that you can't buy at some other supermarkets. [Benecol/Yakult etc.]
Last month they sent us two vouchers each [two cards] for £10. That is £40 off our shopping bill to be spent each week over the next month. {our weekly shop is generally around £50/60 pounds}
There was also many £1/50p type vouchers mainly of the products we buy from them.
Result was we shopped each week at Tesco's as the offer was too good to refuse. Saved roughly £15.

They seemed to know our exact shopping pattern.
I said to the check out lady that Big Brother was watching me, she replied, 'you don't know the half of it'.

PS If anyone could invent a device for me to easily find my wife in a supermarket I would support that.
M'lady seems to have the vanishing gene in shops, many times I walk along thinking I am talking to her and getting funny looks from other shoppers.
 
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So i go to pay me credit card bill online today
A few amazon purchases, some cycling stuff...
And over £1000 of "pending transactions"!!!!!

Turns out someone has been staying at hotels, restaurants, buying insurance and filling up numerous oil tankers with fuel all over Lancashire on my credit card

Credit to mbna, but they automatically worked out which ones were real transactions and which were the fraudulent ones , which impressed me ... And then started to worry me about how much these sorts of algorithms can work out about us.

Also worrying, 3 of the guys I told at work said they just pay their credit card bills on direct debit and not look at their statements !!!???

Worth checking

That is worrying Steve. Cycling stuff but no golf stuff.:confused:
 
That is worrying Steve. Cycling stuff but no golf stuff.:confused:

As keep telling you all , I've been giving up and going cycling instead :)
Seriously, I can out for 50km on a Sat AM and be home by 9.30am, instead of going up for the swindle, teeing off at 11' and getting home at 4.30pm.
So I get to spend much more time with my daughter (and wife !) while she's growing up
Having said that, I am missing the golf, and look like I'm going to join Downshire as a handicap (cheapo) member just to keep my swing and handicap in
 
"He's behind you..."

"Oh no he isn't."

Sorry, I just couldn't resist... the scent of paranoia was just too strong to let it go.
 
PS If anyone could invent a device for me to easily find my wife in a supermarket I would support that.
M'lady seems to have the vanishing gene in shops, many times I walk along thinking I am talking to her and getting funny looks from other shoppers.

A ten foot garden cane with a small flag attached to the top so you can see where she has wandered to above the aisle shelves.
 
We used to shop, roughly every 4th week at Tesco's, mainly for the things they stock that you can't buy at some other supermarkets. [Benecol/Yakult etc.]
Last month they sent us two vouchers each [two cards] for £10. That is £40 off our shopping bill to be spent each week over the next month. {our weekly shop is generally around £50/60 pounds}
There was also many £1/50p type vouchers mainly of the products we buy from them.
Result was we shopped each week at Tesco's as the offer was too good to refuse. Saved roughly £15.

They seemed to know our exact shopping pattern.
I said to the check out lady that Big Brother was watching me, she replied, 'you don't know the half of it'.

PS If anyone could invent a device for me to easily find my wife in a supermarket I would support that.
M'lady seems to have the vanishing gene in shops, many times I walk along thinking I am talking to her and getting funny looks from other shoppers.

Does she have an iphone? There is an app - the name escapes me, but it is a standard install on all new iPhones (I had it on my iPhone 4). Infact, there are 2:

Find my iPhone - this is an app that ultimately shows you where your device is. There was a case of a British rugby player (I think) who had it on his iPad. The iPad was stolen, and he could see where the device was (a block of flats somewhere). He could then MESSAGE THE IPAD and tell the thief that he should return it, which he did by leaving it in a specific place. Crazy.

The other one (which the name of I forget) is similar, you add friends to your contact list in the app and then you can see where they are and they see where you are. Ideal for meeting friends at the football match according to the iPhone advert... or finding your partner when they should be at work for the rest of the world...

EDIT! Twas Will Carling: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technolo...-stolen-iPad-drama-played-out-on-Twitter.html

Iphone app at the football game at 19 seconds: http://youtu.be/1u5DqswCim4
 
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