Safeway Club Card Leads to Bogus Arrest

[CoffeeCat]

Thanks to the Patriot Act, which allows all consumer information/purchases to be released without a warrant--this man was wrongfully arrested for arson and trying to kill his wife. According to the article, "a major piece of evidence used against Lyons in his arrest was the record of his supermarket purchases that he made with his Safeway Club Card."

Richard M. Smith writes "Tukwila, Washington firefighter, Philip Scott Lyons found out the hard way that supermarket loyalty cards come with a huge price. Lyons was arrested last August and charged with attempted arson. Police alleged at the time that Lyons tried to set fire to his own house while his wife and children were inside. According to KOMO-TV and the Seattle Times, a major piece of evidence used against Lyons in his arrest was the record of his supermarket purchases that he made with his Safeway Club Card. Police investigators had discovered that his Club Card was used to buy fire starters of the same type used in the arson attempt. For Lyons, the story did have a happy ending. All charges were dropped against him in January 2005 because another person stepped forward saying he or she set the fire and not Lyons."

http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/05/01/29/030223.shtml?tid=1...

[fooj]

1. OMG!! This is their idea of FREEDOM?

[Beam Me Up]

2. Welcome to the Surveillance Society

And you thought it was only for marketing purposes.

[Pachamama]

14. Wonder how many more things they are keeping track of people

with? Scary, very scary...

They probably have a big database somewhere that could print something out and show everywhere you go on a daily basis, watch on TV & how often & what shows, what websites (DU evildoers)you visit and your posts & what items you purchase and foods you eat....

[Beam Me Up]

41. Oh, you didn't get the memo?

Recently the New York Times (http://www.fromthewilderness.com/PDF/NYTimesWar.pdf ) published a story about how the US military was envisioning a costly new "Internet" in space to control all military operations worldwide, calling it a "God's-eye view" of battle. Called Global Information Grid or GIG, this new platform performs the exact functions we described in an FTW article more than four years ago. Then we were called delusional conspiracy theorists. Four years later we are shown to have been right on the money.

Giant, expensive technology programs like SDI and GIG are sometimes neither wasteful porkbarrels nor the actual instruments that are presented to the public; instead, they are some third thing nobody knows about. This is the way large black projects are funded.

Total Information Awareness or TIA, an Orwellian nightmare of data mining that uses PROMIS-evolved technologies and artificial intelligence, is now operating and able to incorporate vastly divergent data bases of personal information on private citizens from computer systems using different languages in near-real-time. Every bit of personal information from grocery shopping habits to driving records, credit reports, credit card transactions and medical records is now almost instantly accessible. Access will be expedited and broadened to local law enforcement agencies when what will become a national ID card comes into being. That will happen as driver's licenses are standardized nationwide (following the recent intelligence reform act) to include a simple UPC-like code that will allow approved agencies to get all of our data. The surveillance and intervention capabilities of PROMIS progeny can now be used to prohibit a credit card purchase or (soon) prevent someone from boarding a commercial aircraft. These capabilities could also be used to empty a private bank account or - when coupled with biometric face recognition technology - prevent you from making a withdrawal from your bank or even buying food.

In every one of these software applications there are two themes: machines that "talk" to each other and artificial intelligence. (Please see Crossing the Rubicon)(http://www.fromthewilderness.com/store/index.shtml ). As you will see below, these capabilities are now known to exist.

TIA has been renamed several times. We know that the first software was delivered to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in 2003. Its latest nom de guerre is TIE or Trusted Information Environment. According to the San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.fromthewilderness.com/PDF/TIAtoTIE.pdf ) last October TIE now allows the government to access private databases without a warrant. I go one step further to assert that TIE (http://www.fromthewilderness.com/PDF/TerrorResearch.pdf )allows access to private databases without the knowledge of the database owners, provided only one condition exists: the database can be accessed through the internet.

And although the public face of TIA pretends that these technologies have not yet been applied, we are certain with the publication of this story that the same software the government needs is already in use by private corporations - the big ones - and we remind the reader that FTW's map of the world states that the government has been turned into a franchise operation of these corporations anyway. So where's the seam?

From The Wilderness members only story:
PTECH, 9/11, and USA-SAUDI TERROR - Part I

[Pachamama]

47. Great, now I won't be able to sleep!

No, I didn't get that Memo....there are so many of them these days, I can't keep up with the bad news...



What by the way has happened to TIA? I find it hard to believe that it and Poindexter just faded away....

[WritersBlock]

3. And here we always thought they kept track of our purchases so that

they could be sure to discontinue any items we seemed to like too well.

[rodeodance]

4. Thsi is a prime example of the Act gone amuck!!

[merwin]

43. No, this is EXACTLY what it was designed for. You thought it was for

terrorists?

[Ms. Clio]

16. So I'm not the only one who thinks that! n/t

[mrbassman03]

34. I got in an argument over the club card...

People saying it doesn't track the purchases an individual makes, only the ones that a lot of people like so they can restock the shelves. That's why they have goddamn computer systems for checkout!

[SoCalDem]

45. You put any ole name on the card, and then pay with cash

no way to track you.. If you use a check or ATM, you can be traced..

I have one card in the name of Jane Person..and another in the name of Minnie Meeses..

I never use a correct address or phone number. They have nevr asked for an id when getting the card.

[Selteri]

5. This is a surprise how?

With the Unpatriotic Act and the broad sweeping police powers it has delivered to them... it's nothing more than an insane house of cards, expect to read of more nutjob arrests with the only proof being pure chance of a purchase.

[Damien]

6. cash

it's a wonderful thing.

[Cicero]

17. Even with cash, if you use the club card you're still recorded (nt)

[gulfcoastliberal]

7. I never fill the forms out for those cub cards...

Usually you can find a clerk willing to just give them to you with no paperwork. If you must fill out the forms, use fake names, addresses, etc.

These are frightening times.

[Ediacara]

19. Safeway makes you fill out the form

I worked at Safeway, they're like Nazis with it because customers get rewards for spending so much etc. I did have a customer who named himself Nick Papsmear on his Safeway Card to try and get checkers to use that name when they gave him his change. No one ever did and he was very disappointed.

[uppityperson]

21. I got one last wk, clerk said "I'm not watching what you write"

So I got to fill out whatever I wanted. Hey, you can fill one out online, anonymously! (that's a joke). And, you can type in whatever phone # you want. But, write Safeway and protest this.

[Mr. Brown of MD]

20. Yeah, they don't care what you put on the form

The form I filled out for my card had my name and address as George W. Bush, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC.

Naturally, I checked that I would love to receive promotional offers through the mail.

[genieroze]

30. Unless you are going to use them as check cashing cards, you

can give bogus info. They don't even ask for a DL unless you are going to use it for cashing checks.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

8. Those cards were part of the basis for Poindexter's TIA idea

[uppityperson]

9. Give them a bogus name and number

For instance (area codr) 555-1212. I've used this several places around the country, it usually works though sometimes it doesn't and you have to re-register it. Lots of good names out there to use too. I fing these cards incredibly annoying and are a big reason I stopped shopping much at Safeway. Even if I don't use the card when I shop, I still find it annoying.

[depakid]

11. I've used "Batman" 1 Batcave dr." "Gotham City"

However, you can get matched up that way too- especially if you use a debit card. In fact, my guess is that it's only marginally more difficult to data mine you via debit or credit card alone.

basically, I just don't shop where they use those things. It's been obvious from the beginning that the parent corporations were planning to sell the information they compiled.

[dannynyc]

22. Most forms ask for a telephone number . . .

but never specify a CURRENT telephone number. For some reason I remember the telephone number of the house where I grew up. That has been handy.

[PROUDNWLIBERAL]

39. Safeway=Republican

Safeway gives big to the Repukes---I stopped buying there.

[Cocoa]

10. are you sure there's a Patriot Act connection here?

I didn't see anything in that article about the PA, it looks like Safeway turned this guy's info over willingly.

My email to Safeway:

http://www.safeway.com/WebComments.asp

I read in the Seattle Times that Safeway turned over some information from a customer's Club Card, which led to that customer's arrest, which turned out to be a false arrest.

I think that stinks.

Safeway should have refused to turn over your customer's info.

I shop at Whole Foods, which doesn't have one of those stupid card programs.

http://www.safeway.com/WebComments.asp

[sandnsea]

24. I didn't either

I didn't even see that Safeway turned over the info willingly. Maybe they waited for a search warrant. If they didn't, they should have.

[rodeodance]

28. by what legal means would they get groocery buying habits?

[sandnsea]

31. *sigh*

The same way they've been getting grocery receipts and other paper documentations for 100 years or more. Either the grocery store cooperates in a police investigation and just hands them over, or they get a search warrant. How do you think they build cases against criminals anyway?

[XanaDUer]

46. Exactly

This is how they nailed Kristin Rossum who murdered her husband in California.

She had used her "discount" card on the day her husband died and had bought the single rose she used to sprikle the petals of around his body. She said he did it as part of his romantic suicide-the discount card showed she had purchased the rose.

[mrbassman03]

35. Yeah! Whole Foods!

I shop there for many more reasons than the lack of a card... Employees are treated incredibly, the food is fantastic, and the cheese/cured meats counter is the best place to get a great lunch for cheap! (Get 8-10 slices of great sopressatta for $1.50, small loaf of french bread for $0.99, small wedge of sheep's milk cheese for $2.00... the best!) Anyway, Whole Foods is unbeatable!

[William Bloode]

12. My wife thinks i am or was crazy....

because i would not let her use any of these "club card". I kept telling her it was no more than the store spying on your purchases. Heh! Turns out it was worse than i fear, now the goverment is in on it.

Glad i was smart enough to ever fall for it. Sometimes a little paranoia is a good thing.

[hlthe2b]

13. Jesus... like BBQ starter fuel is a "rare purchase....!:

So, if your neighbor is killed from an allergic reaction to peanuts, better hope you've never purchaased anyone of 1000s of peanut- containing or peanut byproduct-containing products!

[Bo]

15. Let the Eagle soar.......

Sigh...I miss my America, when we could actually trust people and say hi to people.

[dqueue]

18. So...

Does asscroft get this "terrorist arrest" listed as under his watch as AG? What a crock of poo.

[mitchum]

23. Bags of potato chips make EXCELLENT firestarters...

(Use what the professionals use!) Would they have nailed him for a bag of Lay's?

[MADem]

25. One more reason to lie like a rug on those application forms

Put the card in your pet's name, fudge the address, fake the phone number. Fuck 'em!!!!

[Democrats_win]

Safeway: "Since we're neighbors lets" spy on each other

An old Safeway commerical in the '70s: "Since we're neighbors lets be friends."

[american_mutt]

26. real big problem with this

since NO grocery store checks ID's for any of these cards (with the sometimes exception of places like Costco) you can pull somebodies phone number out of the phone book and chances are if they are in the area they registered at some time. so really those cards are at best very imperfect as 'evidence'. But hey as long as they get to lock somebody up pigs are as happy as when they can shoot some black guy through the feet.

[demgurl]

33. One of our grocery stores will not issue a card....

without checking your ID!

Do not let them fool you, they use the information they gather. I am a professional shopper and was once told of a report they had just on me and the deal I had taken advantage of that week. They felt that I had gone way overboard and had a whole report on me! I do not shoplift and I did not steal the food but I think they got all bent out of shape when I walked away with almost a 1000 packs of taco seasoning and I made over $600 on the deal!

They have since tightened their restrictions and you are only allowed to use 20 coupons per shopping trip and your card will freeze (read no more doubling of coupons and no more sale prices for the day after 5 trips. All cards in a single household address are tied together. I now have to borrow people's cards and in return I share my deals with them.

[Gabi Hayes]

27. tell em you forgot your card, and they use the one at the register

I do that every time, and it goes on the store's account

[proud2BlibKansan]

48. Some of the cards are interchangable

When I forgot my card one time, the clerk said oh, just let me use that one - and pointed to a card on my keychain from another store!

[sarcasmo]

29. Cutting up my Blockbuster card, Yikes.

[noamnety]

32. In the post 9/11 world ...

"After the September 11 attacks, reports Albrecht, "Federal agents reviewed the shopper card records of the men involved to create a profile of ethnic tastes and supermarket shopping patterns associated with terrorism." So anyone who likes hummus, say, may well be developing the shopper profile of a terrorist."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/weekend/story/0,3605,999866,0...

[msanthrope]

40. I wonder if O'Reilly's falafel purchases have pinged the

system.

Gratuitous Bill O'Reilly slam. Damn the bastard. I haven't been able to eat falafel since.

[gottaB]

49. The Hummus Story, a la Tribe of Two Sheiks

(With apologies...)

• 400 BC - Plato writes about the benefits of Hummus.
  
  
• 1200 AD - Hummus becomes a staple in the diet of Mediterraneans.
  
  
• 1910 - Immigrants bring Hummus to America.
  
  
• 1981 - Regional brands of Hummus appear in supermarkets.
  
  
• 1994 - Tribe of Two Sheiks Hummus becomes the #1 brand in America.
  
  
• Today - Buying Hummus at Safeway will put you on a terrorist watch list. Add some Sahara pita bread to your cart, and it's as good as a one way ticket to Gitmo.
  
  

What's the matter, son? Don't you like peanutbutter? Peanutbutter not good enough for you?

[Riding this Donkey]

36. New Market in my town

does not use store cards like previous owners. They now monitor you by your check, Credit/debit card. On first use you have to show license and after that your set for life!

[KT2000]

37. Heard of another use

a man who fell on a wet floor in a Safeway went to court and Safeway used his history of purchases to discredit him. They noted his regular purchase of wine ro make the case that the man was likely under the influence.
Don't know the result of the case though.

[coffeenap]

38. Also, remember NOT to give your phone number when asked

at the register at home stores, etc. Same stuff.

[mtnester]

42. I refuse to use one of those cards, I either shop where you don't need one

for sale items, or if I do shop a store that you need a card to get that item, I ask them to use the one they have at the register, saying I forgot mine.

Those cards drive me crazy. I told my hubby that I am uncomfortable with using a card that allows the goverment to know when I am buying prescriptions, tampons, etc. This incident just proves my fears.

[tinrobot]

44. Totally agree...

I had to drop Albertsons after they started their card program. I refuse to shop anyplace that has one. My friends think I'm in tinfoil hat land, but these stories prove to me that these cards are a bad idea.

[NAO]

50. Welcome to Total Information Awareness

Total Information Awareness (TIA)




***


Here's a nice little diagram of how TIA works




***

Of course, they would rather that you just forget about the Total Information Awareness project - shove it down the memory hole.

Total Information Awareness - archived at The Memory Hole
http://www.thememoryhole.org/policestate/iao-logo.htm

[Sugarbleus]

51. Two years ago, I heard a woman discuss the down side to

these supermarket cards. She pointed out that ALL our info is stored on these things. Our purchases can NOT ONLY be used to track our purchases but also keep track of what we buy for "OTHER REASONS". One of those reasons we see in this post, another was possibly for health insurance reasons. If we were "caught" buying too much junk food, perhaps an insurer wouldn't like insuring you. Perhaps your smoking habits would amount to the same rejection.

This woman spoke of several other potential things the strips on these types of cards can do, in a negative way. I do not remember all of the omens but this article brought it back just now. I guess the speaker WAS RIGHT afterall?!?

What happened to the driver's license/ID card thingy? That would be the coup de grace in terms of having it all IN ONE PLACE once and for all.

"They" told us micro technology was a "good" thing. It would make everything so much easier and "fun". Easier for who? Well, now we know. Easier to KEEP TRACK OF US!!!

BTW, anyone else having intermitent static/interference on their radios and landline telephones lately???

[Fitzgibbon]

52. Land of the free I think you used to be known as?

Better get used to it!