Cashier Ask For Your Zip Code? Don’t Give It To Them!

We've all had it happen, a cashier upon checking out ask for your zip code. Some might think it's part of the transaction and some might think it's to help the company figure out where most people live that shop at said store - Well if thought either of the two, You're Wrong

A consumer watchdog group says that giving your Zip Code will only result in more piles of junk mail and even cold calls from phone advertisers.

Privacy Rights Clearinghouse claims the information obtained, aka your Zip Code, along with other information they can get when they swipe your credit card. The store gets a copy of your credit card number on the front side of the card. They use that information, with you Zip Code and sell that information to other marketers.

Thus far, two states in the US have banned the collection of Zip Code information and the Supreme Court of Massachusetts declared your Zip Code as "personal information." Something similar was passed in California where Justice Carlos R. Moreno concluded that Californian retailers should be 'prohibited from soliciting and recording information about the cardholder that is unnecessary to the credit card transaction."

Some in the retail industry claim these laws should not be passed as collecting the above mentioned information helps the companies tailor their products to their customers and benefits the consumer since they are made aware of promotions, deals, etc thanks to the collected information.