Lie About Your Birthday(themarkup.org)
themarkup.org
Lie About Your Birthday
https://themarkup.org/gentle-january/2024/01/29/lie-about-your-birthday
59 comments
This seems like it's mostly about retail situations. I just say no in the situations. It's always surprising how taken aback cashiers and such are when you just refuse to provide your phone number or zip code or whatever else they ask for. I'm pretty non-confrontational, but I have no problem just answering no when asked for unnecessary personal information.
I always just say no as well. I've been doing it for decades, but haven't seen anybody taken aback by it for a very long time. They just say "OK" and move on.
Miss Manners (IIRC) back in the 20th century, advised that people who ask questions they have no business asking should have no expectation of receiving answers that have any accuracy.
(although US banks may put PII like "what was your momma's name?" and "where did you go to elementary school?" to actual use, they somehow still haven't gotten around to "can you make a roux?")
(although US banks may put PII like "what was your momma's name?" and "where did you go to elementary school?" to actual use, they somehow still haven't gotten around to "can you make a roux?")
We also have security questions in France (less and less). My best friend used to be CDZ@mVt10DNay7n0sGzn*4J5Q! until I had to spell it down one day.
Now he is known as cartload-sash-stark-travesty-chastity
Now he is known as cartload-sash-stark-travesty-chastity
pro tip: at CVS (and probably elsewhere), <local-area-code>-867-5309 will come back as a valid customer. Better than simply refusing because in many cases you will get a discounted price on some items as a "member"
I use this one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/777-9311
> The song's title, "777-9311", was Prince guitarist Dez Dickerson's actual telephone number at the time the song was written. Once the song became a hit, the phone calls started coming in, and Dickerson ended up having to change his phone number.
> The song's title, "777-9311", was Prince guitarist Dez Dickerson's actual telephone number at the time the song was written. Once the song became a hit, the phone calls started coming in, and Dickerson ended up having to change his phone number.
This doesn't always work; I think some cashiers have caught on to this one. Some will ask for the name on the account. It's not always "Jenny".
I'm the same, but I've been known to get argumentative if they continue or refuse to not accept it.
Now, I just give obviously fake phone numbers like 212-555-1212. Since most of these retail type people are younger, they don't even know what the 555 prefix means or what the significance of the 1212 number was. Instead, they just dutifully enter in the number like a good automaton. If they then try to be "friendly" by addressing you as a the name that comes up with the number, I just nod and smile.
My level of combativeness with their overreaching into privacy is solely dictated by their attitude. Most of them are just fine when you decline to provide the requested data. I've even had some just use whatever pretend account they use. It's only when they get snippy with me that I ramp up.
Now, I just give obviously fake phone numbers like 212-555-1212. Since most of these retail type people are younger, they don't even know what the 555 prefix means or what the significance of the 1212 number was. Instead, they just dutifully enter in the number like a good automaton. If they then try to be "friendly" by addressing you as a the name that comes up with the number, I just nod and smile.
My level of combativeness with their overreaching into privacy is solely dictated by their attitude. Most of them are just fine when you decline to provide the requested data. I've even had some just use whatever pretend account they use. It's only when they get snippy with me that I ramp up.
>This seems like it's mostly about retail situations. I just say no in the situations.
I just say it's "against my religion." That usually works pretty well.
I just say it's "against my religion." That usually works pretty well.
Websites are the problem. You can't say "no thanks" to a required form field. (The obvious retort of "well don't shop there" is a no-go.)
I've given "none-of-your-business" data to companies that don't need it for a long time, (e.g. my middle name, shockingly, is your domain name, so weird!) but it CAN bite you if you forget your password and they ask for your birthday as proof of who you are.
I get asked my birthday so seldomly that I always forget what my new forever birthday is going to be by the next time I need it.
I've given "none-of-your-business" data to companies that don't need it for a long time, (e.g. my middle name, shockingly, is your domain name, so weird!) but it CAN bite you if you forget your password and they ask for your birthday as proof of who you are.
I get asked my birthday so seldomly that I always forget what my new forever birthday is going to be by the next time I need it.
Doesn't work for birthday, but for random none of your business fields, I often use data about the site itself. Give them their own address and use [email protected] for the email.
For birthdays, I always just pick the nearest static holiday. So eg if you’re born July 9th, I’d just put July 4th for everything. Then when it’s time for recall, it’s as simple as “does this need a real birthday or a marketing birthday” and pick July 4th or 9th.
For years I have been putting postmaster@<domain> for required email-to-download forms. Enjoy reading your own spam, jerks.
I love giving nonsensical answers. To the people trying to sell me newspapers in the street I usually reply "I don't read". For the door-to-door charity folk I tend to use variations on "I don't like [whatever their charity is for]". E.g. I don't like children.
This usually confuses them enough so you can get clear before they recompose themselves.
This usually confuses them enough so you can get clear before they recompose themselves.
If you want to mess with them a bit, use the answer my great-grandfather put on his WWII draft card.
Phone: Yes
Phone: Yes
For any data requested I just substitute the last x digits by what my watch says. Great RNG
Yep I settled on "No thanks, I'm good." Less and less push back these days.
Never had anyone get real "pushy" though. But I give off "doesn't like to be pushed around" vibes haha.
Never had anyone get real "pushy" though. But I give off "doesn't like to be pushed around" vibes haha.
May favorite fake birthday is 1st January 1970.
This is a date very familiar to Unix people
This is a date very familiar to Unix people
$ TZ=GMT date -d "@0"
Thu 1 Jan 00:00:00 GMT 1970
Hey! We have the same favorite fake birthday date!
So many people born this day turned out becoming developers, sysadmins, ....
A lot of hackers do this. One thing I noticed: I get a flood of e-mail on 1st Jan with special offers and companies pretending to 'care' it's your birthday when it's all automated drivel.
I do this. It causes lots of confusion when my friends get reminded about my birthday by Facebook. It’s reached the point where I have started celebrating my Facebook birthday, in addition to my real birthday.
I helped my mother with her FB account and someday started to change her birthday every 3 months or so. She started getting "happy birthday!" every three months, usually from the same people.
She was initially mad at me (I told her it was my brother who was doing it :)) but then realized that it helped her to identify the senile ones :)
She was initially mad at me (I told her it was my brother who was doing it :)) but then realized that it helped her to identify the senile ones :)
Just turn it off
In general... don't give out information that's not needed... and give out fake information when not needed, but required by stupid webforms.
So yeah, I'll give actual information to government, insurance, bank etc, but mostly bullshit (even name, DoB, etc) to (web)shops. Besides the address a shop doesn't need anything from me, so they usually get a throwaway e-mail, no phone-number or 0123456789 and only a postal-address if buying physical goods for delivery.
For mail-addresses where I need them later, always just customize them (like with gmail using [email protected] or with self-hosted using postfix's + or - address seperator).
So yeah, I'll give actual information to government, insurance, bank etc, but mostly bullshit (even name, DoB, etc) to (web)shops. Besides the address a shop doesn't need anything from me, so they usually get a throwaway e-mail, no phone-number or 0123456789 and only a postal-address if buying physical goods for delivery.
For mail-addresses where I need them later, always just customize them (like with gmail using [email protected] or with self-hosted using postfix's + or - address seperator).
Some dental plans use the social security number as your ID number which is irksome
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I'm in a jurisdiction where lying in many cases is legal. I think the principle in general is that lying without bad intent is legal.
> [...] Do not lie about your birthday to your doctor. Or your bank. Or when you’re trying to get your driver’s license. You get my point.
I don't give my real birthday to my doctor. Because why should I? An approximate birthday is totally fine for medical purposes.
Of course I don't lie to banks or the government. I think legislation against money laundering etc. is a good thing and so I accept these requirements.
> [...] Do not lie about your birthday to your doctor. Or your bank. Or when you’re trying to get your driver’s license. You get my point.
I don't give my real birthday to my doctor. Because why should I? An approximate birthday is totally fine for medical purposes.
Of course I don't lie to banks or the government. I think legislation against money laundering etc. is a good thing and so I accept these requirements.
> I don't give my real birthday to my doctor. Because why should I?
You do what works for you, but medical care is one of those situations where I want things to have as little unintended friction as possible. There can be a ton of small edge cases balancing insurance and medicine and pharmacies and god knows what that I don’t want to introduce issues into. In the extreme case, I wouldnt want to end up in the ER from an ambulance and the hospital to miss some important note in my chart (eg drug allergy) because the license on my body doesn’t match the birthday on my same-named file.
You do what works for you, but medical care is one of those situations where I want things to have as little unintended friction as possible. There can be a ton of small edge cases balancing insurance and medicine and pharmacies and god knows what that I don’t want to introduce issues into. In the extreme case, I wouldnt want to end up in the ER from an ambulance and the hospital to miss some important note in my chart (eg drug allergy) because the license on my body doesn’t match the birthday on my same-named file.
> Ask why the office or person or company needs that information from you. Or just ignore it until you’re asked for it directly, and then ask them why they need it.
I've tried that a few times. I always seem to get back the same non-answers: "Oh, this is standard procedure", or "Our system doesn't work without this info". I've yet to receive a non-dismissive or intelligible reply...
I've tried that a few times. I always seem to get back the same non-answers: "Oh, this is standard procedure", or "Our system doesn't work without this info". I've yet to receive a non-dismissive or intelligible reply...
When I have to enter my birthdate online, and don't see any need to, I always pick the earliest available date, usually Jan 1, 1901, in protest.
January 1 1970 has been my birthday since I was a 10 year old in 1995, so it never really crossed my mind that some people put their real birthday.
Always use a memorable standard date. Can't go wrong with January 1 and then a year that's multiple of twenty-five such 1950, 1975, 2000.
Farrell's used to provide free ice cream on "your" "birthday". At some point the US Selective Service purchased their birthday list to harvest new male 18-year olds, and (at least according to urban legend) promptly discovered that many a Seymour Butz or Phillip Michael Hunt who "just turned" 18 had never in fact existed.
Looking at a health software design principles to maximize for privacy, thinking we just ask for age. Anyone know of examples that take these user privacy questions seriously to inverse the typical ad-centric models? Age-based indicators are really helpful for predictive analytics but not at the cost of privacy maximization.
Show of hands: how many of us were born at midnight UTC, January 1, 1970?
This is the way. The more who join, the less of an outlier we become.
I lie about my birthday whenever I fill out forms for Marketing on the internet - also use a throwaway email address. It keeps them from matching you up on Equifax, Ad targeting etc.
I enjoy using 1 of April as fake DoB. This way I even make an instant joke on social sites, that do make reminders to other about friend's birthdate.
Try February 30th. If they don't even catch it, it's fun to see the level of validation on their software's end to see if it is allowed to be used.
I almost used Feb 30th by accident filling out a form online today changing a field from last month to this months, the software didn't stop me but I caught it myself.
Good strategy. One, which like so many others, I use all the time. The downside? I'm never sure if I'm a twenty-something or an 80 year old ...
It's poor advice: anyone who has your name and address either also has (or is only clicks away from having) your dob.
who says they have my legal name?
my address can be written correctly in about 10 permutations (only the postcode truly matters)
my email addresses are unique per retailer and end in one of several tlds
my birthday actually does look the same most places, 1970-01-01 , I'm 54 according to most shops, and receive discounts at the beginning of each year.
my address can be written correctly in about 10 permutations (only the postcode truly matters)
my email addresses are unique per retailer and end in one of several tlds
my birthday actually does look the same most places, 1970-01-01 , I'm 54 according to most shops, and receive discounts at the beginning of each year.
Cute article.
But secrecy is not security, to quote the old saw. This isn't a very powerful 'password'.
It's more secure than not keeping it semi-secret. If you're waiting for a 100% perfect security solution to be universally supported by every company, I've got bad news for you.
SSNs are also terrible security checks and should not be used in that way, but so long as they are, I'll refrain from putting mine in my email signature.
SSNs are also terrible security checks and should not be used in that way, but so long as they are, I'll refrain from putting mine in my email signature.
Again, never mind '100% perfect security'. This was not any kind of security at all. Thus, the old saying.
7/4/1976
What's the significance of 7 April 1976?
Not sure if you're joking or not, but it seems like they might be saying July 4, 1976 in reference to the US Bicentennial? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bicentennial
of course i'm joking to point out that a date written as provided is a bit ambiguous when the locale is not defined. for those that read the written date 7 April 1976, the 4 July 1976 is not a significant date
A bit????
xkcd to the rescue! https://xkcd.com/1179/
xkcd to the rescue! https://xkcd.com/1179/
Statistically, its significance is that it isn't anybody's actual birthday.
My cousin's 12th birthday, but OP probably meant the USA Bicentennial.
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