I got mail yesterday from a Porsche/Audi dealership saying they wanted my car for a trade-in towards a new Audi because of my car's resale value (bunch of BS, I know). Only they didn't just say "your car", they said "your 2006 RL"!? I have never done any business with this dealership, so how do they know what car I drive? Is this information that easy to find on someone?

 

DMV registrations.

 

So a dealership can just randomly pick a name and address from the phone book and get the DMV information on that individual? Doesn't seem right.

 

If you, for example, want to get a quote on car insurance right now through a major insurance company like Progressive, Geico, Allstate, etc. and you enter your address, they will immediately show you a list of all the cars registered with the DMV at that address.

The fact is, although you may not like it, they are public records that anyone can find.

 

...and police reports from car accidents!

My V was rear-ended almost two weeks ago and within 24 hours of the police report's being filed, I received multiple mailings and PHONE CALLS from chiropractors and ambulance chasers. When I called the police department to complain, they told me that the accident reports are public information. These folks apparently walk into the police department every week and get copies of all the police reports.

Will give my P.O. Box number and office phone number on a police report next time I'm in an accident.

I've also gotten those warranty offers in the mail with "your RL" on them.

Definitely TMI out there...

 

Yes, but that's not how they did it.

They paid a data mining company that roams through DMV and other records to sell categories of data to anyone that wants to pay for it. If your case, they asked for people owning cars they deem to be of an age and class that they'd like to market an "upgrade to Porsche/Audi" to, and then sent the data mining materials and the postcards off to a mailing house.

We can all access the same stuff if you know where to. For example, the records indicate your cholesterol is high and you're using 7% more water this year than the same billing period last year. Shorter showers, fatty.

 

High cholesterol is not necessarily reflective of a weight problem. And maybe our cholesterol sufferer simply drinks a lot of water with his Lipitor.

I still get calls to "lower my mortgage". The very first one I got when I was a new townhome owner gave it an extra air of legitimacy -- especially when they knew my mortgage payment. Gee, they must really care..... Nowadays, I can't hang up fast enough.

Rob144

 

I haven't answered my phone since 1993