IMG source - @AllThingsSecured on Odysee.com
Naomi Brockman is a privacy advocate that is at the forefront of information security. This is the first I've heard of these laws regarding government harvesting of our financial data. In this hour long video from @AllThingsSecured on Odysee.com Naomi explains that back when new laws proposed $600 of activity on your bank account triggered reporting requirements of banks there was some pushback from people concerned about governments getting banking information on private citizens, but governments pointed out that they were already getting all our financial information. Banks just weren't telling us they were collecting it and sending it to governments, as well as selling it to anyone that had the scratch. The Bank Secrecy Act made it a crime for them to tell us they were doing it.
Every company you do business with today is harvesting and selling your data. All your banking information is collected and sold by your bank. All your emails are read and parsed by free email providers. All your phone calls and texts are recorded and parsed by your phone provider. All this information is collected by governments, and not necessarily only your government. Data brokers acquire all this information and sell it, so any government or private party can acquire it by buying it on the open market. Whatever political entity you hate the most is buying all the information about you that you don't want them to have. Hate Russia? They know that, and they know what kind of toothpaste you use. Hate the US? They know that, and know what you had for breakfast. Hate the WEF? They know that, and know your favorite place to eat lunch.
There are a variety of mechanisms that create greater security - and if you think about it, this data market is a security risk not just for having stuff stolen from you, but by providing location information about you to people that may want to physically harm you - and one of the easiest is pseudonyms. When the barista asks for your name so they can shout it when your order is ready, you can tell them anything you want. A lot of folks have to do this anyway, because Keanu isn't a common name, for instance, and it could be inconvenient if his name was shouted out in a Starbucks. But this isn't only useful at Starbucks. Every vendor you buy stuff from gets your name and address - and sells that information. I remember when RadioShack began to request the name and address of customers even when paying in cash for purchases, and I thought that was creepy and wouldn't provide the information (I have always been a curmudgeon). Paying in cash is still a way to prevent stalkers from surveilling you, because RadioShack went bankrupt and no one else followed them into that grave.
I consider this video a vital primer on data security. I cannot more highly recommend taking the time to watch it and learn how to use very simple techniques to prevent data harvesters from tracking and surveilling you in everything you do. Personally, I consider it very creepy that these people harvest, collect, and collate all this information. I didn't stop using banks because of this data harvesting, but because banks are thieves that stole my money, but this layer of security I have gained by not providing all that financial transaction information about me to government and anyone that wants it enough to buy it from the bank may be just as valuable as such assets as I have kept secure from banks (probably a lot more in my case).
I really don't think most of us are aware of how detailed and insidious the data dossiers on us are. I am somewhat stunned and shocked by the details I have learned from this video - and I thought I was cynical and suspicious already! Today your TV has a SIM card. Your car has a SIM card. These devices are tracking you and phoning home to report that tracking data to whoever made the device sold to you. When it comes to information about you, All Your Base Are Belong To Us. Us being inhuman, inhumane, unborn, undying, unfeeling for profit corporations that intend to - and do - use that information to profit their stockholders. If they didn't profit from it, they wouldn't buy it. Not only that, but as Louis Rossman reports constantly, every device that requires an internet connection can simply be turned off remotely, can change the TOS at any time, delete any digital content you have purchased, turn off the heated seats, or whatever. That internet connection is a chain around your neck - or a pipeline to your wallet.
You don't have to tolerate this surveillance, but you need to be aware of it and take specific actions to prevent it. I don't use banks, I don't connect my surveillance cameras to the web, my car doesn't have any digital systems at all (I drive a 1980 VW that is purely mechanical), I don't have any 'smart' devices (except a phone that I do not carry outside the house. There are Faraday bags you can keep your phone in, as well), I don't pay my bills using a card but have others do so (today I will pay a bill, but I will use a money order). I have a singular and exaggerated dedication to avoiding financial tracking because I avoid financial mechanisms altogether, but the fact I can do that means you can avoid the tracking with lesser actions than I take to conduct my affairs. I had to laugh when Naomi said 'Anything that has the word Google in it, cross it off your list.' I also agree, and do not use Goolag anything, no Gmail, no search, no Play store, nothing. My phone is deliberately and severely disabled in every way I can to prevent applications from functioning on it, other than calls and texts. I don't have any online accounts for hackers to exploit. However, you might consider using pseudonymous accounts that you can use Visa gift cards on, for example.
Something that isn't brought up is medical information. Your pharmacy, your doctor, your local clinic, your other medical providers, do they also harvest and report your medical information, the prescription you buy, the treatments you receive? While this information is protected by HIPAA and is supposed to be secure, I know it is not secure, because I have personally been informed by malicious parties that my medical information was attained by them. You might also give that some thought, and see if your doctor can arrange for tests to be provided under a pseudonym. Medical data about you provides very specific, very personal, and precise information that can severely compromise your financial and personal security.
The more wealthy or powerful you are, the more people are going to be seeking to victimize, harm, or even kill you. However, you may not realize you are an attractive target. I was surprised when told by someone spamming my blog with comments that they considered my account rich and powerful, and this was long before I became a dolphin. Think about people that might be stepping up from farming gold on Runescape. If they can make $1/hour that would be a huge pay raise, so scamming $1 from you, if they can do it in 5 minutes, is worth their time in their estimation.
One of the things that Naomi recommends regarding financial data security is zero knowledge proof cryptos. Transactions via such cryptos are not reported, and cannot be connected to your person if you don't deliberately connect them to you. I think as long as such cryptos are possible to use, it is a good idea to use them for such transactions as are possible to use them for. Have a watch at this ~hour long video. It just may change how you do everything you do.
