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“Relying on the government to protect your privacy is like asking a peeping Tom to install your window blinds.”

John Perry Barlow

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I was in a self-made dilemma as to what I was going to write about this week because I realize that it’s best to change subjects rather than drumming on the same old thing. I had plenty of ammo from last week’s Windham council meeting but I am positive things won’t change drastically in the near future so that’s put away for future use. As fortune would have it, I received a postcard in the mail on Monday explaining that it was a “final coverage notice” on the used car that my wife and I recently purchased. If we didn’t take action within five days, no coverage would be available.

Normally any type of mail like this is considered junk by both of us and through the shredder it goes. As a matter of fact, anything that has our names, address, telephone numbers, account numbers or any other personal information goes through the shredder. Unfortunately I have seen way too much such paperwork in the recycling silver bullets located at Windham Public Works to include bank statements. Sorry, I can’t feel sorry for those folks who do that. I stated normally we shred junk mail immediately but this single little card caught my eye because it contained information on the used car we just purchased.

I have to wonder just how a company like this so quickly obtained information on this car since we purchased the vehicle on June 27th and registered it on June 30th at the Windham town hall. I have eliminated the auction place where the car was purchased because they wouldn’t have a clue we ended up with it and the same for our trustful and loyal mechanic that we have had for years. That leaves the town of Windham, state of Maine or our automobile insurance company, unless some hacker got into the files of the three I just mentioned. I did my best to google the company I received the card from but had no luck finding anything useful. I kind of eliminated the town of Windham, although I know one can purchase information like voting lists while at the same time many public records can be found online very easily. That now leaves two suspects selling our personal information.

There is a phone number on the card (800-293-5704) but if I call that number I know that more than likely I will give them my home phone number. I purchased the OOMA telephone system for its functions that I love and the one I love the most is that I can block all known telemarketers very easily for a minimal monthly charge and in fact can even add to that list for free. With today’s digital age it might seem logical to block the number on outgoing calls but technology exists to get around that. Kind of a long-winded excuse why I won’t call that 800-number but we love our privacy and want to keep it that way. So now it’s down to a 50-50 bet as to which of the last two sold our personal information on the purchase of this used car. I will leave it at an even bet for both because the state darn sure needs money and private enterprises love to make even more money.

But it doesn’t end there because all of a sudden a couple of purchases on the Internet and joining a couple of websites has inundated us with spam emails. I selected the “unsubscribe” thingy and received even more spam emails from other websites. Of course the same goes for our cellphones because now I am receiving spam text messages as well. I guess the easiest thing to do is disconnect entirely from the planet, which means discarding all the wonder electronic gadgets that supposedly make our lives meaningful. Maybe I just solved my problem about losing privacy.

Lane Hiltunen, of Windham, wonders when electronic chips will be implanted into everyone by our government.