From: Bill Garland <bill@kean.ucs.mun.ca>
Date: Tue, 19 Apr 94 06:18:03 PDT
To: jeremy@crl.com
Subject: Re: BEST Inc.
Message-ID: <0097D2F9.F687E5A0.8202@NOAH.UCS.MUN.CA>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


To: SGT=DARREN=S.=HARLOW%ISB%MCTSSA@nwsfallbrook3.nwac.sea06.navy.mil
>> 
>> 	I was in a BEST store yesterday, and attempted to pay by check.  They 
>> asked for ID to verify the check and when I handed them my military ID, they 
>> asked for my driver's license instead.  I gave them my driver's license and 
>> they used it and the magnetic strip on the back of it to verify my check.  I 
>
>[stuff deleted]
>
>From what I know, there is no law that says you have to keep that 
>magnetic strip up to date.  Just have a little meeting between it and Mr. 
>Refridgerator magnet and you could end up with some surprising results.

What is not clear here is whether the information that comes up on 
the point-of-sale terminal is encoded on the card or is in their
"neat little database" on the network into which they are tuned.

I don't know, but I guess this might mean that the paper driver's 
licences we use here in the back woods are soon to go the way of
the buggy whip. The military ID should have been enough - I would
assume that, especially in the largest armed force ever assembled
by man, it is easier to fake a drivers licence than a military id.
But I've been wrong before...

If the info is on the card, follow the refrigerator magnet idea
if you don't want them to cash your cheque. Or do as the Sarge did.
Then, instead of having a record that you purchased Pentouse Letters
on April 14 at 10:33 pm in Mac's Milk on the corner of Broadway
and 110th, they have a record of your withdrawal of 50 bucks from
the atm and a picture in their video database as you did the
withdrawal. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

If the info is in the database, and it is (even though _this_
pos terminal may not have access to it) then - well, if you object
to this, keep up with cp and other fora, get yourself some fake
or anonymous id's (?), write code, use pgp, become judgement proof,
move and don't set up forwarding addresses, have your id killed, etc.

	Bill Garland,
		whose .sig just vanished