Everything is ' traceable ' when using a card ....they know your movements where ever you go....if I went to another town and bought Petrol or stopped at a Cafe for lunch ...institutions like my Bank know I was in that town....and if the Cops were after me , it would be easy as pie to locate my latest location or whereabouts ....!!
Believe it or not, but you are traceable even with a cash. Coles/Wollies can identify a person even with a cash purchase. Your groceries shopping cart is quite unique to you (even if you are purchasing different items from time to time). Person identification rate at big chain stores is about 80% accuracy (and obviously 100% if you are using card or loyalty card). This is called Big Data and to be fair it's quite scary what can be done with these "anonymous" data.
What else is unique to you? Your movement within a city. Person identification rate for that is almost 100% accuracy - it's almost like your fingerprint. So even if you buy a clean mobile phone with a fake ID your mobile device movement within the city is recorded by mobile service provider and they can identify a person. Not sure if they actually using it and keeping all that data, but it can be done if required.
So, let's put tinfoil caps on...
As for me... I was working in a bank for many years and I'm not using cash. I do have it, but it's only for "emergency".
I read the article ..thank you...people read this stuff and buy it with no questions asked but I have a question in relation to this part of the article...which says...
The problem is, they're mostly stuffed between mattresses or hidden in the nation's sock drawers.
How do they know this? If one were to insist on the truth it would tell you they dont know and any statement is at best speculation at worst an out right lie.
Why could it not be that people are buying stuff like telescopes secondhand...or any number of things really...but such unsupported assertions are just so typical of journalism it seems and always point to putting original ideas into the minds of all those who make up the market place..
How could they know and so we know that this is a mere guess to pad the article and support an already predetermined conclusion.
And really what is the purpose...no doubt to tarnish cash and make you feel guilty if you look in your wallet and find a couple of fifties...why do they manipulate our thinking?...because we let them.
So after a while the " informed" person will have all the answers and reasoning to support the propaganda telling us that cash is bad .... Follow the money? Who could benefit and instigate such a campaigne to change your thinking..."THEM" thats who...
Believe it or not, but you are traceable even with a cash. Coles/Wollies can identify a person even with a cash purchase. Your groceries shopping cart is quite unique to you (even if you are purchasing different items from time to time). Person identification rate at big chain stores is about 80% accuracy (and obviously 100% if you are using card or loyalty card). This is called Big Data and to be fair it's quite scary what can be done with these "anonymous" data.
What else is unique to you? Your movement within a city. Person identification rate for that is almost 100% accuracy - it's almost like your fingerprint. So even if you buy a clean mobile phone with a fake ID your mobile device movement within the city is recorded by mobile service provider and they can identify a person. Not sure if they actually using it and keeping all that data, but it can be done if required.
So, let's put tinfoil caps on...
As for me... I was working in a bank for many years and I'm not using cash. I do have it, but it's only for "emergency".
I noticed this morning, when I went to a Woolies self serve checkout, that my image appeared in a small window on the scanner screen as I put my bag on the shelf. So it is very likely Woolies is photographing all customers that use self service. This seems to be a very recent step, and one that maybe they hope goes un-noticed. Loyalty cards I would never have, they are just marketing tools and of no value to the customer, and allow your activity to be tracked. I have never "opted in" on anything at Woolies that could be used to ID my buying habits, and am pretty concerned if they are now tracking me. I can imagine they have access to the scanned QR code data (Thanks Covid) and can tie my phone to the image obtained at the scanner.
I will be checking out what Coles is doing in this regard as well. I suspect I will end up driving to IGA in the future, as they seem pretty old school in regard to this sort of thing.
I noticed this morning, when I went to a Woolies self serve checkout, that my image appeared in a small window on the scanner screen as I put my bag on the shelf. So it is very likely Woolies is photographing all customers that use self service. This seems to be a very recent step, and one that maybe they hope goes un-noticed. Loyalty cards I would never have, they are just marketing tools and of no value to the customer, and allow your activity to be tracked. I have never "opted in" on anything at Woolies that could be used to ID my buying habits, and am pretty concerned if they are now tracking me. I can imagine they have access to the scanned QR code data (Thanks Covid) and can tie my phone to the image obtained at the scanner.
I will be checking out what Coles is doing in this regard as well. I suspect I will end up driving to IGA in the future, as they seem pretty old school in regard to this sort of thing.
THis is how it's done. My Woolies check out glasses.
As a non-American, one thing I found extremely disturbing when talking to Canadians and Americans is the whole credit score thing. So many people I talked to were so concerned about their credit score rating and trying to pay everything on time.
I honestly found it very disturbing and Orwellian. It's as if the banks judge everything you do and and assign you a score as to how much of a responsible person you are.
As a non-American, one thing I found extremely disturbing when talking to Canadians and Americans is the whole credit score thing. So many people I talked to were so concerned about their credit score rating and trying to pay everything on time.
I honestly found it very disturbing and Orwellian. It's as if the banks judge everything you do and and assign you a score as to how much of a responsible person you are.
How many people did you speak to?
Canada has a population of approximately 30 million and USA 330 million approximately so you may not have spoken to a number large enough to be representative or sufficient to indicate that there is anything to be concerned about.
And perhaps your assessment of what you think the banks are doing is somewhat firing from the hip.
Can you relate a specific situation that evidences your concerns that banks are acting as you suggest otherwise we are dealing with supposition ...wouldnt you agree?
Apparently Australia has the third-highest rate of crypto ownership with nearly 1 in 5 adults in Australia owning some form of crypto, Bitcoin being the most favored. Bitcoin is the most popular in Nigeria with 1 in 4 adults in Nigeria owning some form of cryptocurrency .. go figure.
With respect to credit scores, they do impact your ability to borrow and in some cases (before recent legislation) your likelihood of being hired for some jobs.
With respect to shopping data, collection and use of this has gone on for decades and is quite sophisticated. The more recent ability to more specifically tag an individual is quite remarkable and while the potential for this to be used in a nefarious way is real, there is also the benefit of giving you a more customized experience as well. Many people like and expect this “royal treatment”…
I think the expectation of privacy is different from generation to generation and ebbs and flow over time. Often the luxury of anonymity is reserved for the few while the many toil through life transparently.
I think the idea of true privacy is a relatively new and will be a short lived concept and is likely not sustainable or compatible with “modern life”. Not an advocate for this position and no moral judgement on it just more of an observation.
Apparently Australia has the third-highest rate of crypto ownership with nearly 1 in 5 adults in Australia owning some form of crypto, Bitcoin being the most favored. Bitcoin is the most popular in Nigeria with 1 in 4 adults in Nigeria owning some form of cryptocurrency .. go figure.
I didn't know that. Interesting. Maybe the gains in crypto flow through to people being able to bid up house prices more than they would otherwise?
As for cash ...
They can have my cash when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.
I am in the fortunate position of owing nothing, and not likely to need to
get credit, so I don't care about my credit score, but plenty of Aussies do keep an eye on their score, hence the TV ads on the subject.
I generally pay cash for small purchases.
raymo
I mean no disrespect to any poster in this thread, but I do find this kind of theme amusing.
“The only thing to fear is fear itself”
This is kinda true about a lot of things at the moment
I’m not worried about government knowing my business, to be honest. I know they’re not organised enough to use it offensively except in real edge cases.
And if Woolies wants to offer me a discount occasionally on stuff they know I buy, good on ‘em.
Working in IT security, I have an appreciation of the lengths some organisations go to to protect your information, but it also tells you who not to bank with
I’d be more concerned about the more nefarious organisations that many voluntarily give their person data away to. It’s mostly their desire to sell your profile with advertisers so they can try to convince you to buy more stuff, but if you don’t bite, you could say what’s the harm? This is where their sloppy practices come into play, since they’re more interested in sharing the data the collect on you rather than protecting it.
I read that only 9 percent of people in Sweden use cash and that by 2023 the aim is to eliminate cash. Not sure it will work but it is permitted that retailers charge only by card.
One reason is to reduce organised crime and robbery. So no more sending people into a bank with bags of cash to transfer funds out of the country as happened over years in Sydney
As for privacy from regulatory agencies . Forget it. Too late.
I am in the fortunate position of owing nothing, and not likely to need to
get credit, so I don't care about my credit score, but plenty of Aussies do keep an eye on their score, hence the TV ads on the subject.
I generally pay cash for small purchases.
raymo
Me to ...I own everything I have....threw the credit card away 12years ago.
Only bills I have are for everyday living expenses ... of which Astro stuff takes most of the hobby part of it
I read that only 9 percent of people in Sweden use cash and that by 2023 the aim is to eliminate cash. Not sure it will work but it is permitted that retailers charge only by card.
One reason is to reduce organised crime and robbery. So no more sending people into a bank with bags of cash to transfer funds out of the country as happened over years in Sydney
As for privacy from regulatory agencies . Forget it. Too late.
Sorry but I find that rather amusing .. organised crime will just move to the new trend.