We need some technology that prevents retention of private data like a credit card number, which seems impossible, or laws preventing retention, which seems unenforceable.

Didn't I read something a few months ago about a one-use CC number that has no value after the initial transaction? Everybody will probably switch to something like that before long, 'cause I'm moving offshore, getting a merchant account, and selling product below cost just to collect names, addresses, and CC numbers. Nothing too big, just a little nest egg.

Then again, I can probably get a lot of personal info just buying used PCs. One used notebook I purchased a couple of years ago from a mortgage broker had a whole bunch of credit applications and reports in a fax backup folder. The broker was obviously oblivious and uncontrolled, even though associated with a national firm, and neither wanted to discuss the matter. I should have just contacted the customers and let them pursue it, but my wife deleted the file when she saw how agitated I was getting. Come to think of it, I probably have a backup image of the disk as it was received lying around here somewhere, and I still want to slap somebody aside the head for letting something like that happen.


GM