Privacy?

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Murphy625

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So thanks to my next door neighbor, I found out the guy a few houses down from me (actually like a mile away), happens to be a licensed ham.. Neighbor gave me his phone number and he's agreed to help me out with studying and setting up an antenna or whatever.. I haven't figure out how much he's into it yet but he said the test isn't that difficult.

One thing I've been wondering about that has bugged me ever since I got into this is that when you get your call sign, everyone knows who you are, where you live, etc etc. From just your call sign, you hand out your address, then to google maps and anyone can see your home from street view, peer into your backyard, find your home's value, possibly were you work, etc etc. It just seems so ripe for making ones self a victim of the numerous scam artists, stalkers, identity theft, etc.

Then you folks go and display your call signs on the internet.

That doesn't concern anyone? In this day and age with easy access to information, I'm very careful with my information. We don't throw out any garbage that has anything which could identify us.. we rip the address tag off magazines, burn bank notices, junk mail, etc.. I use a virtual credit card number for internet purchases, never hand out personal information when someone calls me, and it basically takes an act of God to get me to hand over my social security number to anyone but a bank.
 

fxdscon

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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You can get a PO Box so your physical address isn't published, but you need to maintain that box as long as you are licensed.


Many hams do this.
 

zz0468

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As suggested, use a PO box, or UPS store or similar. To that, I would add...

Don't use your call sign as a login name for any social media, don't use your callsign in any on-line political discussions, don't post on QRZ or eham, don't get call letter plates on your call, don't wear your callsign on a hat, badge, or T-shirt, and don't become an officer of any clubs, and don't participate in any mobile operations where an antenna gets permanently installed on your car.

Follow those suggestions, and you can stay pretty anonymous.
 

mmckenna

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^^^ Agree.

When I got married I was doing a lot of work travel. Realized I was driving around in a truck with my call sign on the license plate. Leaving the wife at home, that didn't sit well with me, so I got rid of the plates. Cheaper than a PO box. The single 1/4 wave VHF antenna on the top of a plain white truck doesn't stand out as being a "ham".

Using your call sign for what it is intended, identifying your station on the radio, that's all you need to do. Don't use it as zz pointed out above.

If you want to use it as your identity, license plate, screen name, e-mail, website, etc. that's your own choice. Put up the funds for a PO box and you'll be good.
 
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Hey Murphy :)
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I wouldn't worry too much about your privacy- that is, if you follow the good advice the others have just given you.
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For better or worse, your callsign is public domain; And for some very good reasons- but lets not go there now.
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As a female I am "une des principales raisons" - one of the prime reasons --you don't let your identity out...
.....(Laffing.... even in the Simple Innocence of these Forums I have been a ++Medieval Circus! ++ of the Identity Question !)
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So, No call letter license plates, No use of your callsign for anything public, Maybe a P.O Box or your work address for your official FCC mailings.
Not that I have it correct or anything, but take a look at my Profile here and see how I (and others) are "out there" to the world- and maybe take a hint or two ?

Aside from that, I have never really had any issues about giving my callsign out over the air that identified me as more than Lauri the Ham. But too, you will be very disappointed if you were to look me up-- my station mailing address is over a thousand miles from my actual home ( a friend's PO box- we do this for each other for this exact reason....:) )
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I am sure you play Cyber Safe already-- just extend those skills in to Hamdom, and you you'll be fine.
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Welcome aboard, Cowboy :)
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Lauri
 

iMONITOR

Silent Key
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Younger people today seem to have no concern for their privacy as demonstrated by their use of social media like Facebook, etc. Then there are all those apps on their iPhones/smartphones, OnStar, vehicle GPS/black-boxes, tracking their every move, listening in, watching them through their cameras. They're clueless, but will pay the price of their ignorance eventually! :roll:
 

n5ims

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Privacy basically no longer exists. Public and private databases are just a google search away. Your name, address, home value, and pictures are already on the internet (do a search on your area's tax assessment office's database and you'll most likely find a page where you can search by address and get all kinds of information).

Do a search on your address (or an address of that nice house you admire) and most likely will find details on it from several sites (Zillow.com, trulia.com, realtor.com, etc.) with lots of details on your house (and if it has sold recently - even several years ago in some cases - you can see pictures of the inside, outside, and possibly even video of the house). I'm not talking just 1800 square feet 3 bedroom, 2 bath home, more like details such as what appliances are installed, what type of heating and A/C the house has, "Barbecue Area, Hot Tub/Spa, Wet Bar, Pool" and even that the house has a "Security System" (items in quotes are copied from a Zillow listing I found at random). It shows the home value for the past several years, what schools that house is assigned, and over 50 pictures of the house, inside and out, showing the very nice home theater room, the master and kids bedrooms (easy to tell how many boys and how many girls and guess their ages by the furnishings and toys), etc.
 

iMONITOR

Silent Key
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The U.S. Patriot Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26th, 2001 was the beginning of the end to our privacy as U.S. citizens for ever.
 

wtp

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myself

the address on mine is rented out.
and i even told them if someone shows up and wants to know where i am, tell them.
like the one guy said, there is no privacy anymore.
my problem is that i have never gotten spam or a phone call from someone selling any gear...
i get a lot of "pill" spam and healthcare phone calls.
even the county web page gives you who owns a house.
the folks next to me claimed they owned it and they did not, it can be useful. i never brought it up.
like anything, just be careful.
 

KK4JUG

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Your regular license plate is public data. Any number of sites on the internet will let you look them up for a small fee.

Not in Georgia. Even vehicle crash reports are restricted. It's that way to keep ambulance-chasing lawyers from using them for mass mail-outs or phone calls. Drivers, passengers, insurance companies and anyone who suffered a loss from the accident can get them, however.
 

Golay

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Keeping in touch

Getting back to the OP.
As long as the FCC has somewhere to mail you license or a notice, that's all they needs.
It can be a P.O. box, your grandma's house, whatever. You don't have to live there.
As long as a mailing don't come back to them as undeliverable, you're all set.
 

Murphy625

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There seems to be a disconnect in how we view privacy.. Sure, our data is available on the internet, our home can be seen from google, tax records from the local municipality, etc.

But I'm more or less anonymous, so while the data is available, no one knows which of the 300+ million records to look at if they decided to pick me as the focus of their attention.
There's far too many crazy people out there today.

I understand the rag chewing.. knowing something about the other guy adds a personal connection to what otherwise would be very dry and generic conversations.. I've listened to many folks talk and I recognize the regular guys contacting each other and passing personal, yet non-critical, information between them.. But dang, I think I'm going to choose to do what a lot of others have said above.. keep myself as anonymous as I can wherever I can. Obviously if I go transmitting, the call sign is important for identification, but beyond that, seems like its asking for problems.

Say the wrong thing in casual conversation, post the wrong picture, express a certain viewpoint or opinion, and you could inadvertently make yourself a target.

They should reduce the information available on call signs.. First initial, first three letters of last name, state of residence.. or something generic like that. Or reduce the access to only licensed hams and restrict open public access.
 

PrivatelyJeff

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I would just get a PO BOX and a google voice number and that’s what you give out when you know your info will be made public. I did it years ago when I started buying domains and it keeps the spam crap from piling up at home. Also get a junk email address too.
 
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DaveNF2G

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Welcome to 1984. The only difference between the novel and reality is that Little Brother is a bigger threat than Big Brother.
 

Golay

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Another phone

…. and a google voice number and that’s what you give out when you know your info will be made public …

We have a pay as you go phone that we do exactly that with. It's thru T-Mobile, and averages about $4 a month. We give that number out for the silly stuff, like a Kroger card, other merchants, etc. It stays in the house, and we use it to ring our regular phones when we can't find them.
 

k6cpo

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This topic comes up periodically and I understand people's concerns. On the other side of the coin, however, I feel that some of their fears may be exaggerated.


I've used my street address since the day I was licensed and I've had call sign plates on my truck for almost as long. The license plate even has a frame that says "Extra Class Amateur Radio Operator." The truck also has a sticker from my club, an ARES sticker and a 146.520 sticker on the rear window. It only has one antenna, a short dual band 2m/440 antenna mounted in the center of the cab roof.


My truck was broken into once and a radio stolen, along with some other items, but it was not the license plate or any of the other amateur radio stuff that attracted the thieves. The theft took place in the parking lot of a motel in Twentynine Palms, California and surveillance video showed the thieves checking ALL the vehicles in the parking lot for unlocked doors. It turned out mine was the one they were able to get into.


My truck has a shell on it and at the time no lock on the tailgate. They were able to get the tailgate open past the shell and get into the cab through the back window which was unlocked because of the cable from a mag mount antenna. It was obvious that thieves were not after the ham radio gear because, while they stole the radio from under the seat, they left the control head which was mounted on the dash in plain sight.


After taking steps to make the truck more secure (locking tailgate and NMO mount installed in the cab roof) I've had no further issues, despite having the plates and other stuff on the truck and my street address on the license info.
 

GROL

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And don't get a license tag for your car with your call sign on it! Some idiot that didn't like the way you were driving could wind up in your driveway.

Well, I see someone mentioned this too, but still a bad idea.
 

KK4JUG

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And don't get a license tag for your car with your call sign on it! Some idiot that didn't like the way you were driving could wind up in your driveway.

Well, I see someone mentioned this too, but still a bad idea.

FYI: It's not public information in every state. In Georgia, vehicle registration information is protected. Access is allowed only for official purposes. I know a police officer who was fired because he ran some tags for personal reasons. I'm a retired LEO and, the way the law is written, I couldn't legally run my own tag.

I don't want to hear from those who talk about hearing tag information on the scanner during traffic stops, etc. I know there are leaks. I'm just telling you what the law is in Georgia. They didn't consult me when they adopted it.
 
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