DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Something A Little Strange After A Visit To Kroger

While I do understand that our information is collected almost everywhere we go, I found this to be a little strange.

My daughter and I did some last minute Christmas errands yesterday. She drove and it's very unusual for me to do so, but I left my keys which had my Kroger card on it at home.

I didn't have much to purchase so we just put the purchase on her Kroger card in order to add it to her fuel points. Her and my granddaughter enjoy a certain brand of wine. I never drink or purchase wine. She bought that wine with her purchase on her own debit card. When I made my purchase I used my debit card.

Now the only way that anyone could connect my purchase to her Kroger card is through my debit card. Today, on my Facebook account, for the first time ever, I'm noticing ads appearing for the wine she bought. So as it turns out, not only is it your purchases that are being tracked by your Kroger card, but also through your banking information.

I find that to be more than slightly troubling.

Strange.

Did they get the wine right?

Merry Christmas, Pit!

Just drink the wine. We are all watched and under the thumb.

Did your daughter google the wine on any device attached to your wifi?

If so, ads will show up on your computer even if she doesnt use your computer.

Or did she post a picture/mention of it on her Facebook/Twitter using her phone on your WiFi?

Or simply talk about it in range of a smart device with a microphone? If she's ever used Facebook messenger to video chat on her phone, the app probably has microphone access priveleges.

Even if not actively using the app it could have pinged your WiFi in the background.

I'm sure they are tracking based on your credit card information. It really doesn't contain your "banking information" though as when a card is authorized it returns a token that can only be used at the retailer you are at, sometimes a single-use token (but most retailers use multi-use tokens). They can get your name as well, but chances are if you've used that particular card at Kroger before they matched it up to your Kroger Plus card account.

Now, not sure how they share gathered information about transactions, that is the more concerning part to some.

No, there was no internet search or posting of the wine. My daughter knows exactly what type of wine my granddaughter drinks and just decided to grab some of it while we were out.

Now when I use my Kroger Plus Card I often get ads on FB promoting those products and I expect that to happen. I did however find it odd that I made a separate purchase on her card that created ads on my social media. As I stated, the only way they could have connected my purchases with her Kroger card would have been via my debit card.

Go on Facebook and adjust you preference to restrict sharing with retail partners. It works both ways they send Facebook your purchases to target their advertising.

I'm not bothered that the ad appeared. What bothered me is the only way the purchase could have been tracked was via my debit card. Whether the ad shows up on FB or not it still doesn't change the way purchases are tracked.

Everything is tracked and nothing is private anymore. All of your data is for sale. Banks selling your purchase data to other companies is another revenue stream for them.

I swiped a credit card at a vending machine to buy some skittles. Half hour later, I received an ad for skittles on my phone.

Going deeper into the conspiracy theories, does your phone listen to your conversations? Back in September I was in the cafeteria at work with a couple of coworkers. They were talking about a conference they were going to in October. I had never heard of this conference before. Yet, later that day I got an ad for that conference on my phone.

First, every major company sells data. Phones track where we go, what we do. Banks sell certain transaction data as do vendors. Companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon aggregate data in 'almost' real time.

You can opt-out everywhere, but you really have to opt-out everywhere... Browsers, sites, retailers, banks, apps, service providers, phone companies, etc.

Most people have no clue they opted-in or what opting out even means. You bank sends you an innocent looking annual notification telling you that it will be sharing your behavioral information to third parties to help you avoid unwanted spam! So do your credit cards. Did you opt out? Nope.

Good news is it's all changing. It's a lot of what the government wrangling with social media has been about over the last couple years. Big brother wants unfettered access in exchange to allow certain questionable practices to continue. For Google and others who make a ton of money selling the data, this is like giving away the store. So they are coming together in the name of 'privacy rights' to save the day... A they move to the next plateau of tracking.

And governments already have access to much of the data for crime prevention, etc. But the corps have to stay a step ahead in order to protect their value. Here is a small article with an insider view that will help a little.

The third-party browser tracking cookie is dead. What’s next?

https://marketingland.com/the-third-party-browser-tracking-cookie-is-dead-whats-next-263804

IMHO the best thing to do is just embrace it. It will eventually predict what you want or need before you realize it and make you more prepared for your daily routines. BUT there are measures you can take beyond attempting to opt-out. Can't find it right now but there are sites/apps that will spoof trackers by sending them a ton of info on your accounts to bizarre sites and interests. Then you will notice ads for things you have no clue about. There is also the privacy tracking prevention models talked about in that article and other apps that do similar things now. Turning GPS off or leaving your phone at home helps too. Unlinking accounts across google apps and devices also helps. Getting new loyalty cards and registering them with an alias and an old phone number from your childhood helps too.

But embracing it is easy and probably smart... You don't want to miss out on that next best thing!

A little off topic from the initial post, but I work for a bank and rarely use my debit card, only if a store will not accept my the credit card I use 99% of the time.

Other than those rare times I only use my debit card at ATMs that our institution services. I would never, ever use it online. AT least until recently, and the security may have changed, but if someone were to "hack" your card and your bank purges the card for security reasons (usually they automatically issue you a new card), a criminal that really knows their stuff can still access your account even with your former purged DC #. Your bank account will always be tied to that.

It has always bothered me that companies who have data breaches are permitted to just offer the affected customers a temporary subscription with a Identity protection service. I am amazed that Equifax was permitted to keep operating after their breach a while back. They should not have been able to continue operations until they proved worthy & capable of securing your information. Especially when it was found out high executives sold company stock before the public was informed of the breach nearly a month later.

Get a Capital One card. They have a virtual credit card number you can use online. You put in the info, and they give you a number for each individual online purchase.