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First Name: Fuck, Last Name: Off (lemmy.world)
submitted 7 months ago by to c/funny@sh.itjust.works
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I received an advertisement from T-Mobile in the mail today where they must have gotten my data from some website that forced me to fill out personal information

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[–] 83 points 7 months ago (14 children)

Heads up, the 9 digit zip code (xxxxx-xxxx) alone is as valid of a mailing address as any "full" address.

That is to say, by leaving the full zip, you've low key exposed the actual address, which can be found with a quick google search.

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  • [–] 6 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

    I went down a brief rabbit hole on the zip+4 and the IMb (intelligent mailer barcode). The +4 was originally a local division inside a single zipcode, like a neighborhood or mail route. +4 and the barcode was then called POSTNET -- decommissioned and now upgraded barcode encoding to IMb, which can contain like 2000 bits of data. The zip +4 technically now has a length of 11 digits, and is inside a IMb barcode.

    Conclusion, barcodes have sensitive data too. ~✍️

    edit add: i wanted to see if my phone's barcode app could scan too see if OP's post office really calls him Mr. Off, but it cant natively read mailer codes and I fell asleep and the rabbit hole ended.

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  • [–] 12 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    Surely the last 4 digits don't point to an exact house. I'm fairly certain my zip code has more than 9999 houses. It does seem like it would get you pretty close though.

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  • [–] 29 points 7 months ago

    Zip+four is only down the the block level, you need 2 more digits (zip+6) to uniquely identify every possible address in the US. That said, a 9 digit barcode is way too close to a full address for most people to be comfortable with sharing online.

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  • [+] -10 points 7 months ago (3 children)

    Sure but why do you care? It's not like they did anything it was the guy who mailed this to them and all they did was a mildly funny prank.

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