[attrition] rant: Do people really care about their own personal information?

[lyger]

http://attrition.org/news/content/06-05-21.001.html

[...]

For some reason, "Frances" emailed attrition her full name, Social 
Security number, and home address with an apparent request in the subject 
of the email of "personal information to be blocked".

How ironic is that?

In most cases, we would have disregarded and deleted her email as either 
spam or a crank. However, this particular situation bothers me for many 
reasons. One, judging from the content of the email, "Frances" was 
apparently looking for some type of assistance. While it definitely isn't 
the type of "help" attrition.org can provide, for some reason, she reached 
out to have her "personal information" blocked from someone or something. 
Two, she did so in a fashion that a) was absolutely not technologically 
secure, and b) sent to people who have no reason to have access to her 
personal information. Three, even though I redacted "Frances"'s personal 
information in the email above, what she sent allowed me to make a few 
deductions, however flawed they may be:

1. "Frances" is probably not in your 21-45 crowd. Judging from the city 
and state listed in her home address, coupled with her first name, 
"Frances" may very well be a retiree. (P.S. - happy birthday, Mom!)

2. From the (redacted) Social Security number listed, "Frances" received 
her Social Security card in the state of Maryland, not Florida, which also 
suggests that she is not a Florida native and may be a retiree.

3. In a not-so-large stretch of the imagination, "Frances" may be unaware 
of threats and risks surrounding personal data theft or data loss.

[...]