Just Not To Be Believed.

**Tonytee** · 09-06-2018, 12:27 AM - **1 Like**

Well sports fans I have an interesting tale to tell. Like the majority of folks, I take care of my financial obligations online. Yesterday I received a notice from my email folks that I have a payment due on this particular credit card. The plot now thickens. The notice not only told me which credit card company I do business with, but also included the due date, the dollar amount and the ACCOUNT NUMBER. Well this really lit a flame under me sit down, and I immediately got on the horn and contacted my credit card company and they were more flabbergasted than myself. It turns out the email folks have a calendar feature that extrapolates all of this information when the company sends my statement via email. Then this information is posted to their calendar and is used to inform me when my payment is due. Well, (Dumbasses) that is what the credit company does when it sends notices with the statement and the due date.

The credit card company put me on hold for a couple of minutes and when they returned, they advised me to give them a different email address so that there will be no way that my email provider can ascertain this VERY PRIVATE FINANCIAL INFORMATION. Come to think of it, this is not the only credit card company I use which means that the email provider also has access to my other credit card obligations. It is just mind boggling that with all of the security precautions taken on the Internet and the billions of dollars spent on avoiding this sort of situation i,e., User Ids, Passwords, Your mother's maiden name, the name of your first car and how many hickies did give during your eight years in High School? My friends, BE AWARE, Big Brother is out to pick your pocket.

Thanks for reading and you can bet your last credit card balance that all of my financial information will now become UNAVAILABLE to all my email friends.

Cheers,

Tony

**savoche** · 09-06-2018, 12:47 AM - **1 Like**

Unencrypted email can be seen as the equivalent of a postcard - anyone who handles one can read it. Nothing that is supposed to be kept secret should be sent via email, ever. Unless you encrypt the content, of course. No company should read their customers' email without permission, but they certainly can (as can anyone with access to the traffic flow in between). E.g. Google is perfectly candid about their reading your correspondence. They "help" you by making callendar entries with your flight times, they tell you when you need to leave to get to some appointment in time etc.

Btw, my credit card providers all just send me a notice via email that there is an invoice waiting for me, then I have to log on to my bank to see the details. They never send anything confidential in an open email. Actually, with the new regulations in Europe it would cost them dearly if they did.

So yes, Big Brother sees what you do, and so do a lot of Little Brothers if they care to. So be careful what you send through email - or share in any other way for that matter. It's not like Facebook can't read your "private" messages.

**Tonytee** · 09-06-2018, 01:10 AM

Originally posted by savoche

Unencrypted email can be seen as the equivalent of a postcard - anyone who handles one can read it. Nothing that is supposed to be kept secret should be sent via email, ever. Unless you encrypt the content, of course. No company should read their customers' email without permission, but they certainly can (as can anyone with access to the traffic flow in between). E.g. Google is perfectly candid about their reading your correspondence. They "help" you by making callendar entries with your flight times, they tell you when you need to leave to get to some appointment in time etc.

Btw, my credit card providers all just send me a notice via email that there is an invoice waiting for me, then I have to log on to my bank to see the details. They never send anything confidential in an open email. Actually, with the new regulations in Europe it would cost them dearly if they did.

So yes, Big Brother sees what you do, and so do a lot of Little Brothers if they care to. So be careful what you send through email - or share in any other way for that matter. It's not like Facebook can't read your "private" messages.

Thank you very much. Man, that is some great inside information you have provided. I guess I was so naive in thinking that security was the name of the game and no one was to blame.

Thanks again,

Tony

**savoche** · 09-06-2018, 01:39 AM

Originally posted by Tonytee

Thank you very much. Man, that is some great inside information you have provided. I guess I was so naive in thinking that security was the name of the game and no one was to blame.

Thanks again,

Tony

You're welcome. I have no problems with accepting that Joe Sixpack isn't an expert on cyber security, but after a couple of decades in the business I find it depressing to see the ignorance of companies treating personal data. It looks like the threat of huge fines is just the right motivator to rectify that, though

DeadJohn · 09-06-2018, 06:38 AM - **1 Like**

My bank and credit card never email statements or account details. Email notices only include summary information, such as "Your August statement is available. Login to your account to see details."

My employer does some stupid security stuff. An anti-phishing training email used an obscured link to an external website. Obscured links are a common phishing technique. The anti-phishing training conditioned people to be *more* susceptible to phishing.

09-06-2018, 12:27 AM - 1 Like	#1
Tonytee Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 21,461	Just Not To Be Believed. Well sports fans I have an interesting tale to tell. Like the majority of folks, I take care of my financial obligations online. Yesterday I received a notice from my email folks that I have a payment due on this particular credit card. The plot now thickens. The notice not only told me which credit card company I do business with, but also included the due date, the dollar amount and the ACCOUNT NUMBER. Well this really lit a flame under me sit down, and I immediately got on the horn and contacted my credit card company and they were more flabbergasted than myself. It turns out the email folks have a calendar feature that extrapolates all of this information when the company sends my statement via email. Then this information is posted to their calendar and is used to inform me when my payment is due. Well, (Dumbasses) that is what the credit company does when it sends notices with the statement and the due date. The credit card company put me on hold for a couple of minutes and when they returned, they advised me to give them a different email address so that there will be no way that my email provider can ascertain this VERY PRIVATE FINANCIAL INFORMATION. Come to think of it, this is not the only credit card company I use which means that the email provider also has access to my other credit card obligations. It is just mind boggling that with all of the security precautions taken on the Internet and the billions of dollars spent on avoiding this sort of situation i,e., User Ids, Passwords, Your mother's maiden name, the name of your first car and how many hickies did give during your eight years in High School? My friends, BE AWARE, Big Brother is out to pick your pocket. Thanks for reading and you can bet your last credit card balance that all of my financial information will now become UNAVAILABLE to all my email friends. Cheers, Tony

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09-06-2018, 12:47 AM - 1 Like	#2
savoche Master of the obvious Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Lowlands of Norway Posts: 18,311	Unencrypted email can be seen as the equivalent of a postcard - anyone who handles one can read it. Nothing that is supposed to be kept secret should be sent via email, ever. Unless you encrypt the content, of course. No company should read their customers' email without permission, but they certainly can (as can anyone with access to the traffic flow in between). E.g. Google is perfectly candid about their reading your correspondence. They "help" you by making callendar entries with your flight times, they tell you when you need to leave to get to some appointment in time etc. Btw, my credit card providers all just send me a notice via email that there is an invoice waiting for me, then I have to log on to my bank to see the details. They never send anything confidential in an open email. Actually, with the new regulations in Europe it would cost them dearly if they did. So yes, Big Brother sees what you do, and so do a lot of Little Brothers if they care to. So be careful what you send through email - or share in any other way for that matter. It's not like Facebook can't read your "private" messages.

09-06-2018, 01:10 AM	#3
Tonytee Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2012 Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 21,461 Original Poster	Originally posted by savoche Unencrypted email can be seen as the equivalent of a postcard - anyone who handles one can read it. Nothing that is supposed to be kept secret should be sent via email, ever. Unless you encrypt the content, of course. No company should read their customers' email without permission, but they certainly can (as can anyone with access to the traffic flow in between). E.g. Google is perfectly candid about their reading your correspondence. They "help" you by making callendar entries with your flight times, they tell you when you need to leave to get to some appointment in time etc. Btw, my credit card providers all just send me a notice via email that there is an invoice waiting for me, then I have to log on to my bank to see the details. They never send anything confidential in an open email. Actually, with the new regulations in Europe it would cost them dearly if they did. So yes, Big Brother sees what you do, and so do a lot of Little Brothers if they care to. So be careful what you send through email - or share in any other way for that matter. It's not like Facebook can't read your "private" messages. Thank you very much. Man, that is some great inside information you have provided. I guess I was so naive in thinking that security was the name of the game and no one was to blame. Thanks again, Tony

09-06-2018, 01:39 AM	#4
savoche Master of the obvious Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Lowlands of Norway Posts: 18,311	Originally posted by Tonytee Thank you very much. Man, that is some great inside information you have provided. I guess I was so naive in thinking that security was the name of the game and no one was to blame. Thanks again, Tony You're welcome. I have no problems with accepting that Joe Sixpack isn't an expert on cyber security, but after a couple of decades in the business I find it depressing to see the ignorance of companies treating personal data. It looks like the threat of huge fines is just the right motivator to rectify that, though

09-06-2018, 06:38 AM - 1 Like	#5
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,834	My bank and credit card never email statements or account details. Email notices only include summary information, such as "Your August statement is available. Login to your account to see details." My employer does some stupid security stuff. An anti-phishing training email used an obscured link to an external website. Obscured links are a common phishing technique. The anti-phishing training conditioned people to be more susceptible to phishing.