newsletter from CASPIAN: consumers against supermarket privacy invasion and numbering

For more information, see:
http://www.spychips.com and http://www.nocards.org

Dear CASPIAN Subscribers:

We are launching a boycott campaign against Tesco, the world's
third-largest retailer, for its involvement in item-level RFID tagging
trials. These trials, involving tens of thousands of British shoppers,
set an unacceptable example for the retail industry.

I appeared on BBC's Newsnight program to announce the boycott to
millions of UK consumers last night. (Streaming video of this
announcement will be available online today only; see details below.)
Tesco is taking the boycott seriously and issued a statement to the BBC
acknowledging the trials, while attempting to downplay their
importance.

If you are a Tesco shopper, please join the boycott. Stop by your local
store this week and tell the manager that you intend to shop elsewhere
until they stop putting RFID tags on consumer products. If you cannot
avoid shopping at Tesco, we ask that you purchase only strictly
necessary items there.

Next, please refer friends, family members and colleagues to our
informational website, http://www.BoycottTesco.com, and ask them to
join
you. If you have a website or blog, please print a mention of the
boycott and post a link to the new site.

The boycott will remain in effect until Tesco assures us that no
products on their shelves have been RFID tagged. The only way to stop
the escalation of RFID on consumer products is to send a strong
economic
message to Tesco that consumers won't stand for it.

In freedom,
Katherine Albrecht, CASPIAN

================================================== =====
VIEW THE BBC SEGMENT ONLINE (AVAILABLE UNTIL TONIGHT ONLY)

Tuesday's Newsnight program will be available for replay today until
10:30 PM London time/5:30 PM New York time at the Newsnight website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/tv.../newsnight.ram.

Real Player users can scroll forward to the 30:44 time stamp to view
the
Tesco RFID segment.

================================================== =====
OUR PRESS RELEASE

January 26, 2005

CASPIAN ANNOUNCES WORLDWIDE TESCO BOYCOTT ON BBC TELEVISION
Consumers react to UK retailer's planned expansion of item-level RFID

CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering)
has launched a worldwide boycott of Tesco in response to the retailer's
escalating use of RFID on consumer products. CASPIAN Founder and
Director Katherine Albrecht made the announcement to millions of
viewers
watching BBC Newsnight, the popular UK news program, on Tuesday.

Tesco is the world's third largest retailer, with over 2,300 stores
across Europe and Asia.

RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification, a controversial
technology that hooks miniature antennas up to tiny computer chips
smaller than a grain of sand to track items at a distance. The
technology raises privacy concerns because RFID tagged items can be
monitored invisibly right through items consumers normally consider
private, like clothing, purses, backpacks and wallets.

During the BBC segment, Albrecht outlined CASPIAN member objections to
Tesco's expansion of its item-level RFID tagging trials, saying they
"would involve potentially hundreds of thousands more shoppers....it
essentially means that more people will be taking home items containing
[RFID] spychips." She concluded, "that's simply unacceptable."

Newsnight correspondent Paul Mason said Tesco was taking the
announcement of the boycott "seriously," and read a prepared statement
from the retailer that was intended to assure consumers that the store
did not have plans to track products after purchase.

Mason concluded that "all the big names in this [RFID] industry will be
watching this battle very intently."

Tuesday's Newsnight program will be available for replay until
Wednesday
evening at the Newsnight website:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsa/n5ctrl/tv.../newsnight.ram. Real
Player users can scroll forward to the 30:44 time stamp to view the
Tesco RFID segment.

CASPIAN has launched http://www.boycottTesco.com in conjunction with
its
boycott announcement. The site details Tesco's RFID involvement,
including its past misconduct with the controversial Gillette RFID
"smart shelf."

Albrecht vows to maintain the boycott until Tesco complies with the
moratorium on item-level RFID tagging of consumer goods as outlined in
a
position statement endorsed by CASPIAN and over 40 of the world's
leading privacy and civil liberties organizations. (See Position
Statement on the Use of RFID on Consumer Products at
http://www.spychips.com/jointrfid_position_paper.html)

"We believe Tesco's decision to pursue item-level RFID tagging is
irresponsible," Albrecht added. "We're calling on consumers to boycott
the chain until the practice is stopped. If people must shop at Tesco,
we are asking them to reduce their purchases. After all, as Tesco says,
'every little helps.'"

================================

Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN)
is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes
since 1999. With thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states and over 30
countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing
strategies that invade their privacy and to encourage privacy-conscious
shopping habits across the retail spectrum.

For more information, see:
http://www.spychips.com and http://www.nocards.org

CASPIAN NEWSLETTER, 1/21/05
================================================== ===================

Consumer privacy and RFID newsletter
Edited by Sunni Maravillosa and Katherine Albrecht

NEWS:
1- TESCO announces massive RFID rollout
2- Wal-Mart misses RFID mandate, downplays problems
3- Wal-Mart sets up propaganda site, spends fortune on advertising
4- Your calls are monitored, even on hold
5- Albertsons to spend customer dollars on spying tech
6- MedicAlert develops new way to store medical records
7- Thailand authorities chip tsunami victims
8- Cell phone company's database hacked for a year or more
9- IBM buys spookware company
10- Customer spyware pushers resort to desperate tactics
11- More outrageous CRM gems

CASPIAN ACTIVISTS UPDATE
1- CASPIAN in the news
2- CASPIAN members sound off
3- Volunteer Corner


================================================== ===================
TESCO ANNOUNCES MASSIVE RFID ROLLOUT
================================================== ===================

Tesco is the world's third largest retailer, with stores across Europe
and Asia. In the single largest purchase of RFID infrastructure to
date,
the chain has announced plans to install 16,000 RFID antennae and 4,000
readers across its UK retail stores and distribution centers. But the
real kicker for consumers is the company's plan to expand item-level
tagging of consumer products. This not only violates privacy experts'
call for a moratorium on item-level tagging, but means more Tesco
shoppers could soon be taking spychips home with them.

Among the hollow promises offered for the move are lower prices and
better customer services. Tell us, TESCO: how does spending millions on
an over-hyped, under-performing technology that your customers don't
want provide either of those things?

We predict that our sizable UK membership will not let TESCO's move go
unchallenged.

Source: Computer Weekly, 1/12/05
http://www.computerweekly.com/articl...ticleID=136136


================================================== ===================
WAL-MART MISSES RFID TARGET DATE, DOWNPLAYS PROBLEMS
================================================== ===================

Well, well: January 1, 2005 came and went, and Wal-Mart's mandate for
its top 100 suppliers to ship their goods with RFID tags wasn't just
missed, but missed spectacularly. Wal-Mart is working overtime to
downplay the problems with RFID implementation, but several news
articles provide interesting details, including these facts:

- the technology only has a 60% success rate for Wal-Mart
- many suppliers are dragging their feet on complying with
Wal-Mart mandate

Does Wal-Mart confess that its suppliers don't like RFID? Does it
reveal
that customers don't want tags on their razors and shampoo? Nope. The
most recent word from Wal-Mart is that they've declared RFID "a
success"
and announced plans to expand their chipping to 600 stores and a dozen
distribution centers by this fall. They apparently define success the
way the old USSR did.

Sources: NY Times, 12/27/04
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/27/te...rtner=geartest

Information Week, 12/21/04
http://www.informationweek.com/story...01427&tid=5979

Slashdot, 12/27/04 (lots of information buried in comments)
http://it.slashdot.org/it/04/12/27/1....shtml?tid=126

Detroit Free Press, 1/18/05
http://www.freep.com/money/business/...e_20050118.htm


================================================== ===================
WAL-MART SETS UP PROPAGANDA SITE, SPENDS FORTUNE ON ADVERTISING
================================================== ===================

Wal-Mart is truly an amazing company. Who else could chronically
antagonize their suppliers, employees, and customers -- and still get
good press? Money talks, so when Wal-Mart spent a fortune on full-page
ads in over 100 papers around the country last week, it got the media's
attention, garnering major pro-Wal-Mart stories in USA Today, MSNBC,
and
elsewhere.

In an effort to stem the bleeding from wounds inflicted on it from all
sides, Wal-Mart put up a new web site designed to address its critics.
We checked it out, and for something that's supposed to be
"unfiltered,"
there's remarkably little information in the single paragraph that
addresses RFID technology. Maybe they're still working on answering us.

Sources:
USA Today, 1/12/05
http://www.usatoday.com/money/indust...art-usat_x.htm

Forbes, 1/13/05
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds...ap1759102.html

Wal-Mart Facts
http://www.walmartfacts.com/


================================================== ===================
YOUR CALLS ARE MONITORED, EVEN WHILE ON HOLD
================================================== ===================

"This phone call may be monitored for quality assurance." You hear it
nearly every time you call a large company. But we bet you didn't know
that everything you say while you're on hold may also be listened to
and
recorded. That's right -- even through the Muzak, a customer service
rep
could be listening to you while you talk with your spouse, roommate, or
child. Ugh. In addition, your sensitive information (passwords, Social
Security Numbers, account information, plus whatever gets said while
you're on hold) could be going to outside companies hired by the
company
you thought you were calling.

We wonder just exactly how eavesdropping on customers helps with
"quality assurance," unless they're referring to the quality of the
customer dossier they're keeping on you. The lesson from this
disturbing
revelation? Never, *never* assume that your call isn't being monitored.

Source: New York Times, 1/11/05
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/11/business/11snoop.html
(registration required; or use http://www.bugmenot.com/)

This story is also available from CNET:
http://news.com.com/Your+rants+on+ho...3-5530021.html


================================================== ===================
ALBERTSONS TO SPEND CUSTOMER DOLLARS ON SPYING TECH
================================================== ===================

Albertsons CEO Larry Johnston just doesn't get it. This is the man who
a
few years back had his company invest in GPS tracking devices for
shopping carts to better monitor customers -- as if the company's nasty
"loyalty" card wasn't bad enough. His latest brainstorm involves
spending millions on high-tech systems to better track shoppers in real
time and get them to do the cashiers' work, to boot. Here's the scheme:

"If all goes as planned, in 18 months shoppers in all 2,500
stores will use handheld scanners ... connected to a company
database and a global-positioning-satellite system. The
devices will read product labels and keep a running tab; they
can direct customers to the shortest path to their groceries
and alert them to special offers based on past purchases ....
At the exit, the scanner charges the total to a credit card.
No checkout line. No waiting."

Yeah, and no privacy, either. Did you catch the part about monitoring
your location and keeping tabs on your past purchases?

If you're still shopping at Albertsons (and you have our sympathy if
you
do, plus our encouragement to join our boycott), your money is funding
this lunacy. Albertsons stock has done poorly since right around about
the time they introduced the hated "Preferred Customer" card, which
sparked CASPIAN-led protests and a boycott. Spending customer dollars
on
more tracking isn't going perk up the growth charts, Mr. Johnston.

Source: Business Week, 1/25/05
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine...4/b3917107.htm


================================================== ===================
MEDICALERT DEVELOPS NEW WAY TO STORE MEDICAL RECORDS
================================================== ===================

MedicAlert, the nonprofit organization supplying bracelets since 1956,
has a new way to get emergency medical information to health care
practitioners. The company's new Personal HealthKey stores medical
records on a SanDisk USB flash drive. This platform is nearly universal
-- almost all computers have USB ports -- and it can be a secure way to
exchange information. It's certainly better than implantable RFID
technology, and it's telling that MedicAlert chose to go with the
older,
more privacy-respecting alternative.

However, while we're glad to see MedicAlert avoiding the pitfalls of
the
RFID microchip implant, we're concerned about consolidating so much
information in one place. As we've seen so many times before,
concentrated data becomes an irresistible target for data mining by
corporations and government alike. What's now a voluntary choice could
someday become a mandated necessity for anyone to receive health care.
MedicAlert, good as its intentions are, may be playing with fire here.

Source: c|net news, 1/5/05
http://news.com.com/MedicAlert+to+ar...3-5513412.html


================================================== ===================
THAILAND AUTHORITIES CHIP TSUNAMI VICTIMS
================================================== ===================

Thailand is one of the countries already foisting a national ID on its
citizens, so it came as no surprise to us at CASPIAN that its
authorities turned to microchipping the unidentified victims of the
tsunami. Supposedly that will be a big boost for RFID implantation, but
all we can think is, "It's pretty bad that the only people they can get
to take the chips without an argument are dead."

Source: The Nation, 12/31/04
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2004..._15939002.html


================================================== ===================
CELL-PHONE COMPANY'S DATABASE HACKED FOR A YEAR OR MORE
================================================== ===================

Cell-phone giant T-Mobile has been thoroughly embarrassed by the
disclosure that a hacker enjoyed access to the company's entire
database
on its 16 million customers for "at least a year." Apparently, the
hacker could access Social Security numbers, voicemail PINs, passwords
-- everything but credit card numbers.

T-Mobile knew about the problem as far back as July of last year, but
still has not released any public comment on this huge privacy breach.
It's unforgivable when companies try to pretend there's nothing going
on
after a problem of this magnitude is discovered. Repeat after us:
"Companies can't be trusted to keep our personal information secure."

Source: Security Focus, 1/11/05
http://www.securityfocus.com/news/10271


================================================== ===================
IBM BUYS SPOOKWARE COMPANY
================================================== ===================

Most of us knew IBM as a computer hardware company. But now that
they've
sold their manufacturing business to a Chinese company, IBM is moving
into sinister territory: consumer espionage. Case in point: IBM just
acquired a company called "Systems Research and Development" (SRD),
which sounds rather boring until you find out what they do.

SRD specializes in "identity management products" and "customer
relationship management" (CRM). Their flagship product, NORA, which
stands for Non-Obvious Relationship Awareness, essentially combs
through
databases, looking for subtle bits of information about people and
their
relationships. So, for example, if you're linked to someone who's
flagged as a shopper with "excessive returns," you may not be offered
special deals that others without such a link would get.

Welcome to the new discrimination. Based on associations, IBM will help
companies reward the "right" (read "compliant") customers and try to
distance themselves from the "wrong" ones -- people like us who rock
the
boat, for example. It's disturbing to see a once-respected company like
IBM sinking into this kind of mire.

Source: The Register, 1/7/05
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/01/07/ibm_buys_srd/


================================================== ===================
CUSTOMER SPYWARE PUSHERS RESORT TO DESPERATE TACTICS
================================================== ===================

The Customer Relationship Management (CRM) industry earns billions
every
year peddling customer spyware to retailers. So what's a CRM pusher to
do when ethical executives say "no" to tracking customers and
trafficking in their data?

They insult them! Here's how a recent newsletter, signed by Gwynne
Young, Managing Editor of CRMguru.com, portrayed executives who resist
the pressure to invest in CRM industry products:

"Resistance Is Futile. There's always one in the crowd:
It's the guy who kept wearing bell-bottoms until they came
back in fashion a decade later or the gal who refuses to
get a cell phone. But when it comes to business, the person
who resists change can bring everything to a halt."

Scandalous words, but the fact that Ms. Young has to resort to this
kind
of rhetoric is actually good news. Her comments reveal that there are a
lot of executives out there bucking the CRM trend -- and it's not
surprising. Not only is CRM invasive and offensive to customers, which
can seriously damage a company's reputation, but its exorbitant costs
can damage their bottom line, too.

Let's hope the bell-bottom wearers keep up the good work and tell the
CRM industry to get lost. This "resistance is futile" message is simply
wrong -- CASPIAN is living proof.

Quotation from a CRMGuru.com newsletter, sent on 1/13/05


================================================== ===================
MORE OUTRAGEOUS CRM GEMS
================================================== ===================

Still wondering why we're so thoroughly repulsed by the CRM industry?
Here's another sample pulled from a random CRMGuru article to help put
the industry in focus:

"This is the real reason you invest in CRM: You want to milk
your best customers for all the money they can spend with
your category. Every trick is allowed, even data-mining your
customer base to predict the next best product and then
matter-of-factly dropping it as a recommendation in a customer
service conversation."

Gross, huh? Or how about this gem from the same piece:

"CRM strategy and tools can help you remember who your
customer is (data) and remind your customer who you are
(communications) in a virtuous circle where you can make
your customer say, 'Now, they really know me!'"

Yo, guys! Haven't you figured it out yet? We don't want you to know us!

Source: CRMguru.com 11/10/04
http://www.crmguru.com/articles/2004...tomer-God/1384


================================================== ===================
CASPIAN ANNOUNCEMENTS
================================================== ===================

A few updates on the newsletter: We are moving from a sporadic
publication schedule to a more structured, twice-a-month publication
schedule. And, starting with this issue, look for it online too! To
find
CASPIAN newsletters online, go to
http://www.nocards.org/news/index.shtml (please note that this feature
will become available around 1/24/05.)

We've begun featuring news about CASPIAN staff and members, and we'd
love to feature your consumer privacy comments, web site, or activism.
Email Sunni with details: sunni -at- nocards -dot- org. Comments may be
edited for brevity and/or clarity; please specify if you wish to be
anonymous. CASPIAN is growing by leaps and bounds, and we're proud to
share our successes with other members, to help inspire and motivate us
all. Thanks for all you do!


================================================== ===================
CASPIAN STAFF AND MEMBER NEWS
================================================== ===================

Liz McIntyre and Katherine Albrecht recently published an article for
state lawmakers titled "RFID: The Big Brother Bar Code" in the Winter
2004 edition of American Legislative Exchange Council's (ALEC) policy
forum.

Here's some info on ALEC from their web site: "With more than 2,400
members, ALEC is the nation's largest bipartisan, individual membership
association of state legislators. One-third of all state legislators
belong to ALEC."

If you'd like to read it, we've posted the article on our Spychips web
site. Find it at:
http://www.stop-rfid.org/documents/a...e-article.html

-----
Sunni Maravillosa has announced a new book project focusing on how and
why privacy erosion is troublesome, and offering ways to reclaim your
lost privacy. An estimated publication date has not been established.
http://www.sunnimaravillosa.com/archives/00000130.html

-----
Tom Servo publishes "warzine," a blog focusing on resistance to privacy
invasions. Very interesting stuff:
http://www.warzine.blogspot.com/

-----
CASPIAN has seen an impressive growth in membership and newsletter
subscribers. Here's a rundown of some locations our new privacy-minded
colleagues hail from:

INTERNATIONAL: Canada, France, Germany, India, Nigeria, and the UK.
U.S.: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Nebraska, Ohio,
Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

We welcome each of you!


================================================== ===================
CASPIAN IN THE NEWS
================================================== ===================

A few recent highlights:

A feature in the January issue of Popular Mechanics called "Who's
Spying
on You?" brought us many new members (hi, folks, and welcome aboard!);
we got a mention in Scotland; and Katherine was quoted in a Washington
Times article on Wal-Mart's missed RFID chip mandate.

Popular Mechanics:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/scie...h/1161417.html

The Scotsman:
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=7092005

Washington Times, 12/29/04:
http://washingtontimes.com/business/...0624-5341r.htm


================================================== ===================
CASPIAN MEMBERS SOUND OFF
================================================== ===================

"Where have our rights gone, and who is going to take a stand in
discouraging these companies from intentionally invading our common
privacy?" - Mary, Ohio

-----
"I was just reading about Gap's secret photographing of their
unsuspecting customers as they entered the store and was completely
outraged and alarmed! As a Gap shopper I find this blatant invasion of
privacy beyond intrusive." - Michele, Canada

-----
"Security culture and subsequently the implementation of tech such as
RFID relies on a certain amount of secrecy .... we must break through
that and illustrate the dangers of a total surveillant society." -
Anonymous, U.S.

-----
"It's not just about what type of coffee you buy and how often do you
buy it. .... It's the privacy being passively 'yanked' from an
individual for the 'good' of the general public." - Anonymous, U.S.

-----
"I fear that too many consumers will wake up to the facts of our
vanishing privacy too late. Your information reminds me that I'm not
paranoid or crazy." - Anonymous, Wisconsin


================================================== ===================
VOLUNTEER CORNER
================================================== ===================

For all of you itching for something to do on privacy issues, here are
three suggestions:

1. TELL GILLETTE you don't like spy chips in your razors and other
products. Our "Boycott Gillette" site describes the company's actions,
and provides a "sound off" page with contact information. Be sure to
BCC
us, so that we may quote you in a future newsletter:
http://www.boycottgillette.com/soundoff.html

2. TEXANS are feeling the brunt of Wal-Mart's RFID push, at both
Wal-Mart distribution centers and Sam's Club stores. Keep up the
pressure, both in Texas and around the country, by voicing your
opposition to their ongoing RFID dictates.

Write: Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611
Call: 1-800-WAL-MART (Remember, your phone number is visible when you
dial an 800 number.)
For privacy, call: 479-273-4000

3. WORRIED about the TESCO rollout? Voice your displeasure to TESCO
directly. Please send a copy to [email protected] in the bcc: line
of
your email.

Tel: +44 (0) 800 505555
E-mail: [email protected]


================================================== ===================

CASPIAN: Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering.
Opposing supermarket "loyalty" cards and other retail surveillance
schemes since 1999

http://www.spychips.com/
http://www.nocards.org/

You're welcome to duplicate and distribute this message to others who
may find it of interest.

================================================== ===================

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the CASPIAN mailing list, click the
following link or copy and paste it into your browser:
http://www.nocards.org/cgi/mojo/mojo.cgi

If you have difficulty with the web-based interface, you may also
subscribe or unsubscribe via email by writing to:
[email protected]

================================================== ===================

CASPIAN NEWSLETTER JANUARY 12, 2005
================================================== ===================

Consumer privacy and RFID newsletter
Edited by Sunni Maravillosa

NEWS:
1- Radio Frequency Energy Shown to Harm DNA
2- Credit Cards Surpass Checks
3- High-Tech Ink is a Privacy Fink
4- RFID Pill Bottles to Monitor Drug Use
5- Shop Lower on the Food Chain
6- Wal-Mart Computers Programmed to Cheat?
7- Is our Data Safe on Corporate Computers?
8- SmartBargains.com is Not so Smart on Privacy

CASPIAN ACTIVISTS UPDATE
1- CASPIAN in the news
2- CASPIAN members sound off

TOOLS YOU CAN USE:
1- See FoeBuD for German anti-RFID information and merchandise

================================================== ===================
RADIO FREQUENCY ENERGY SHOWN TO HARM DNA
================================================== ===================

Researchers in Europe have confirmed that the electromagnetic radiation
(known as EMF energy) emitted by cell phones and RFID readers causes
damage to human DNA. The four-year "REFLEX" study, funded by the
European Union, found that cells exposed to EMF showed "a significant
increase in single and double-strand DNA breaks."

"There was remaining damage for future generation of cells," said
project leader Franz Adlkofer, meaning the change was passed along.
Mutated cells are seen as a possible cause of cancer. "We don't want to
create a panic, but it is good to take precautions," he added, advising
people to use a land line rather than a cell phone when possible.

While people can choose not to use cell phones, it may be harder to
avoid RFID readers. As CASPIAN has repeated pointed out, the RFID
industry envisions such readers in floors, doorways, walls, shelving,
ceilings, and even in the medicine cabinets and refrigerators of our
own
homes. Already, RFID readers used in the supply chain at Wal-Mart
stores
in Dallas/Fort Worth bombard employees with ultra high frequency EMF
radiation, and retailers have hidden RFID readers in store shelves that
emit similar energy.

Source: Reuters, 12/20/04
http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle...toryID=7141544

================================================== ===================
CREDIT CARDS SURPASS CHECKS
================================================== ===================

The Los Angeles Daily News reported that, "For the first time,
Americans' use of credit cards, debit cards and other electronic bill
paying has eclipsed paper checks. The number of electronic payment
transactions last year totaled 44.5 billion -- exceeding the number of
checks paid, 36.7 billion -- according to Federal Reserve studies
released Monday."

Plastic, numbered cards dominate Americans' wallets, making it
increasingly easy to track the who, what, when and where of our
transactions. Need we remind you how important it is to use anonymous
cash?

Source: Los Angeles Daily News, 12/6/04
http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1...580307,00.html

================================================== ===================
HIGH-TECH INK IS A PRIVACY FINK
================================================== ===================

We've reported on printers that spy on their owners through phone-home
spyware and hidden serial numbers. Now comes XINK -- a line of
conductive inks that could give RFID tracking abilities to paper. From
the company web site:

"XINK advanced conductive and resistive formulations allow
printing of complex electronic circuitry, including flexible
paper sensors (package security), sensor grids (smart
pharmaceutical packaging), keypads (electronic paper
diaries), and of course RFID antennas."

While "conventional" RFID antennas can be detected (if you know where
to
look), ink-based RFID antennas could be printed under packaging ink to
make consumer product package tracking virtually invisible.

Source: UsingRFID.com, 12/9/04
http://www.usingrfid.com/news/read.asp?lc=s27253hx312zp
XINK site: http://informationmediary.com/xink/

Flint Ink has long been touting such a product through its Precisia
website:
http://www.precisia.net/

================================================== ===================
RFID PILL BOTTLES TO MONITOR DRUG USE
================================================== ===================

The pharmaceutical industry and the FDA hope to someday monitor every
pill we take -- in our own homes. Sounds far-fetched, until you learn
they're actually developing the tools to make it happen:

"The Med-ic eCAP is an electronic compliance monitor which tracks
medication usage without active patient input. It consists of an RFID
"smart" tag, embedded into a RemindCapR bottle cap which records the
time at which the bottle is opened by the patient to remove the tablet
or capsule, logging the patient's medication use."[1]

The industry also has plans to "track medication usage for any standard
blister packaging format...[through] sensor grid technology and a
proprietary process of printed conductive inks."[2]

At present these packages are for use with volunteers who agree to be
observed and monitored, but soon government-sanctioned drug peddlers
will want to ensure that you take every last Prozac you've been
prescribed.

Source: Information Mediary Corporation (IMC) [1]
http://informationmediary.com/ecap/
[2] http://informationmediary.com/medic/

================================================== ===================
SHOP LOWER ON THE FOOD CHAIN
================================================== ===================

The heavy hitters of the American grocery scene are Wal-Mart (#1), the
retail force behind the RFID surveillance agenda; Kroger, Albertsons
and
Safeway (#2, #3 and #4, respectively) with their detestable "loyalty"
cards; Ahold (#5) -- the corrupt, scandal-ridden "Enron of the
supermarket world" with a card of its own; and Costco and Sam's Club
(#6
and #7), where all purchases are monitored and recorded by design.

But as you go down the food chain, some privacy-friendly grocers begin
to stand out. Employee-owned Publix (#8) has no card and boasts about
it. A&P (#11) has been eliminating the card programs at its stores due
to customer demand. We've mentioned Texas' card-free HEB before (#12),
and we've done studies to show how low the prices are at card-free
Meijer (#14).

Dropping down further, we find Raley's (#20), a terrific chain in
California that has sworn off cards; Whole Foods Market (#21), where
the
food is natural and the shopping surveillance-free; and Stater Brothers
(#24), one of our favorite Southern California stores that has kept its
home-town feel.

Since we haven't said much about Whole Foods before, we thought we'd
shine a spotlight on them in this issue. This upscale, card-free,
natural foods grocer is making huge gains in the market by following a
pro-consumer, real-food ethic along the lines of Trader Joe's, whose
virtues have been extolled here before. Whole Foods doesn't have a
"loyalty" card program (though they once toyed with the idea and
discarded it). And when Sunni recently spoke with their CEO John
Mackey,
he assured her that they have no intention of creating one in the
future.

Katherine, the ultimate retail purist, shops at Whole Foods herself,
and
appreciates being able to support the smaller food companies whose
products appear on Whole Foods' shelves. You won't find products from
Procter & Gamble, Kraft, or Coca Cola there. Instead, you'll find
little, independent companies like Rapunzel Organics, makers of
GMO-free
corn starch. (For about as anti-corporate a staff photo as you could
ever want, check out http://www.rapunzel.com/company/company_staff.html
and smile.)

Save your privacy and put in a vote for retail diversity. Direct your
business to stores that respect your dignity and privacy and help send
them up the competitive ladder.

Source: FMI, Top US Supermarket and Grocery Chains
http://www.fmi.org/facts_figs/faq/top_retailers.htm

Whole Foods Market web site (with store locator):
http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/

================================================== ===================
WAL-MART COMPUTERS PROGRAMMED TO CHEAT?
================================================== ===================

That's the allegation of a Massachusetts lawsuit. The suit contends
that
payroll computers were programmed to shave time off workers' records.
Wal-Mart "hid documents and finally got nailed," said Robert
Bonsignore,
the attorney handling the case.

Wal-Mart is not the only food retailer accused of payroll shenanigans.
Albertsons, Kroger and Safeway just paid $22.4 million to settle a
class
action lawsuit brought against them by more than two thousand janitors
who claim they were underpaid by the chains' Southern California
stores.

If these allegations are true, they speak volumes to the
trustworthiness
of the big retailers involved. Can we consumers trust companies that
systematically cheat their employees?

Source Wal-Mart story: Boston Herald, 12/9/04
http://business.bostonherald.com/bus...rticleid=57910

Source for Janitor story: Morning NewsBeat, 12/8/04
http://morningnewsbeat.com/archives/...2/08.html#MNB7

================================================== ===================
IS OUR DATA SAFE ON CORPORATE COMPUTERS?
================================================== ===================

Corporations say it over and over, "Trust us with your information.
We'll keep it private and safe." But a new study suggests company
computers are plagued with spyware:

"Corporate systems are riddled with spyware, according to a
study by an anti-spyware firm [Webroot]. .... [An] average
five per cent of the PCs scanned had system monitors and 5.5
per cent had Trojan horse programs, the two most nefarious
and potentially malicious forms of spyware."

Even if companies do have the best of intentions, your data could be at
risk. Like CASPIAN has said all along, if you don't want your
information shared, don't give it out.

Source: The Register, 12/2/04
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12...pyware_survey/

================================================== ===================
SMARTBARGAINS.COM IS NOT SO SMART ON PRIVACY
================================================== ===================

If you've shopped at SmartBargains.com, a popular discount shopping
website, your transaction data is up for sale.

SmartBargains shoppers might have been reassured by the company's
privacy policy that states, "Information about our customers is an
important part of our business, and we are not in the business of
selling it to others." However, CASPIAN Associate Director John
Vanderlippe has found otherwise.

According to DM news, Millard Group Inc. is offering SmartBargains
shopper information for sale. This information includes the
"SmartBargains.com file of 159,100 last-3-month Internet buyers." The
file is selectable by geography, recency, gender, dollar, and more,
according to the report.

We wonder how many other websites might be similarly misleading
customers through vaguely written privacy policies.

Sources: DM News, 12/7/04
http://www.dmnews.com/cgi-bin/artpre...ticle_id=31205

SmartBargains.com privacy policy as of 12/9/04
http://www.smartbargains.com/privacy.aspx

================================================== ===================
CASPIAN IN THE NEWS
================================================== ===================

In addition to mentions in the New York Times and Popular Mechanics,
CASPIAN has been cited in other publications, including:

WAL-MART RFID TIMETABLE
High-tech tracking devices raise concerns on privacy
By Donna DeMarco, Washington Times - Washington,DC,USA
http://washingtontimes.com/business/...0624-5341r.htm

VERICHIP
What the FDA Won't Tell You about the VeriChip
CBN News, The 700 Club
For the article:
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/news/041210a.asp
To watch the video:
http://www.cbn.com/700club/showinfo/...broadcasts.asp
(Scroll to December 10)

RETAIL SURVEILLANCE
'Video Miners' Use Hidden Cameras in Stores
By Joseph Pereira, Wall Street Journal December 21, 2004; Page B1
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB1...5Fstories%5Fhs
(Requires subscription)
Or see it mirrored here:
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate...s/10481072.htm

RFID IN PASSPORTS
Some fear it's a passport to identity theft
By Hiawatha Bray, Boston Globe
December 13, 2004
http://www.boston.com/business/techn...identity_theft

BAD RETURN POLICIES
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...syourmoney-hed
(free subscription - or see www.bugmenot.com for login info)

================================================== ===================
CASPIAN MEMBER NEWS
================================================== ===================

CASPIAN member James Mata, in California, maintains ZombieWire, a web
site full of interesting news, cool art, and other information
concerning RFID tags and privacy. Check it out!
http://www.zombiewire.com/

CASPIAN staff member Sunni Maravillosa contributed a chapter to the
book
"National ID Systems: Essays in Opposition," currently available at
Laissez Faire books (neither Sunni nor CASPIAN makes money from sales
generated through the link below):
http://www.lfb.com/index.php?stocknumber=IN8783

In part because the National ID push is heating up in the U.S., Sunni
has posted a slightly different version of the chapter than what was
published. It's available at her web site:
http://www.sunnimaravillosa.com/freedom/idpostrev.html

================================================== ===================
CASPIAN MEMBERS SOUND OFF
================================================== ===================

"RFID = sensor = bug = spy chip = ?????

"...Ubiquitous RFID networks, or something similar, is the 'last mile'
needed to complete a closed loop tracking system...." - Anonymous
CASPIAN member

-----
"I think we are entering a very dangerous time in our history when
corporations and the government can spy on us through the use of RFID
technologies without our knowledge." - Brook, in CA

-----
"I am shocked and fearful of the future. I want my privacy. I am not a
number, a piece of cattle. For the past few years I have been
questioning the social culture, the media propaganda. I always thought
I
was just paranoid. But thanks to sites like this, I realize I am not
alone." - Anonymous, in UK

-----
"To embed your RFID in the container for logistical purposes is one
thing ... but to be photographing consumers is another...

"So I now use Schick

"And when they do the scumbag B.S. that you do .... I will go to a
safety razor, and when they do it ... I will move to a straight
razor,...and when they do it I will use an OYSTER SHELL!" - Letter sent
to Gillette (BCC'd to CASPIAN)

-----
"...it's pretty obvious that this proposed "mileage tax" [as mentioned
in a previous newsletter] is ... about finding an excuse to put an
expensive tracking device on the car of every citizen in California.
And
I swear I'll leave the state, or give up driving, or SOMETHING if they
do that. I will not be tracked." - Kim, in CA

================================================== ===================
ACTIVISM TOOLS YOU CAN USE
================================================== ===================

German friends FoeBuD have anti-RFID merchandise -- some silly, some
serious -- for sale. Have a browse (CASPIAN makes no money off of
FoeBuD
sales):
https://shop.foebud.org/

================================================== ===================

CASPIAN: Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
Opposing supermarket "loyalty" cards and other retail surveillance
schemes since 1999

http://www.spychips.com/
http://www.nocards.org/

You're welcome to duplicate and distribute this message to others who
may find it of interest.

================================================== ===================

To subscribe or unsubscribe to the CASPIAN mailing list, click the
following link or copy and paste it into your browser:
http://www.nocards.org/cgi/mojo/mojo.cgi

If you have difficulty with the web-based interface, you may also
subscribe or unsubscribe via email by writing to:
[email protected]

================================================== ===================

Hi, all:

Look what we discovered...

-Katherine
=============================================

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 29, 2004

VERICHIP RFID IMPLANTS IN MEXICAN OFFICIALS OVERSTATED
Dozens of news outlets unwittingly repeated error, says CASPIAN

News reports earlier this year indicated that 160 employees in the
Mexican Attorney General's Office had been implanted with Verichip RFID
devices. New information indicates that only 18 individuals received
the
device, said Katherine Albrecht, Founder and Director of CASPIAN
(Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering).

"Our concern is that dozens of news outlets have repeated the inflated
number, which has reached the level of an urban legend," Albrecht
observed. "I myself have repeated the erroneous figure in several media
interviews, and I want to set the record straight."

Albrecht stumbled upon the discrepancy while following up on the story
this fall. "I contacted the Attorney General's office to get some
additional information on the chipping. A foreign press official sent
me
a transcript of a Televisa Mexican television interview with an IT
executive from the Attorney General's office. In the interview, he
clearly states that only 18 employees were chipped."

Albrecht, fluent in Spanish, translated the interview and later
followed
up to verify its accuracy. Since her discovery, several reporters have
independently verified that the Attorney General's office places the
official figure at 18. Albrecht's translation of the interview is
posted
at the organization's www.spychips.com website.

"Even Applied Digital Solutions, the creator of the VeriChip, cites the
incorrect figure on their website. We have tried to contact the company
to alert them to this situation, but they have not returned our calls,"
said Albrecht.

================================================== ===================
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
================================================== ===================

The Evidence: Interview Excerpts
================================

A full transcript of the interview with Marco Huitron of the Mexican
Attorney General's Office is available on CASPIAN's website:
http://www.spychips.com/press-releas...anslation.html

Here are a few salient excerpts:

TELEVISA: In the case at hand, how many PGR officials are we talking
about who have this implanted or are going to get it implanted?

JUSTICE OFFICIAL: The Access Control System, the identification to
access restricted areas, is only for government officials, there are a
total of 18 chips that we have for that purpose.
...

TELEVISA: Sir, then only 18 officials of the PGR have this chip and
they
are the only ones who can access the Information Center?

JUSTICE OFFICIAL: This chip is for access control, it is only used by
18
government employees.
...

JUSTICE OFFICIAL: The system consists of sensors to read the chips, the
18 chips that are implanted in the government employees, and a control
system that allows them to be enabled or disabled.

================================================== ===================
The press has widely reported the 160 figure
================================================== ===================

The following are just some of the publications reporting that 160
members of the Mexican Attorney General's staff were implanted with the
VeriChip RFID device. (We at CASPIAN repeated the error ourselves in a
July press release.)

* Washington Post
* USA Today
* Associated Press
* MSNBC
* Wired
* CNN
* Business Week
* EE Times
* Newsday
* Investor's Business Daily
* InformationWeek
* New Scientist
* ComputerWorld
* San Jose Mercury News
* Dallas Morning News
* San Diego Union Tribune
* The Independent (London)
* Cleveland Plain Dealer
* InfoWorld
* Atlanta Journal and Constitution
* TechWeb
* Slashdot
* Portsmouth Herald
* Houston Chronicle
* Daily Record, Glasgow, Scotland
* FreeRepublic
* CCN (Canadian Corporate News)
* TechNation
* The Register UK
* Security Pipeline
* Cryptogon
* PC Plus
* The New American
* Dubuque Telegraph Herald
* Times Colonist (British Columbia)
* Calgary Herald
* Edmonton Journal (Alberta)
* Daily Record
* IT News
* RFID News
* RFID Gazette
* IT News (sponsored by Microsoft)
* Daily Wireless
* CASPIAN press release

================================================== ===================
VeriChip maker, Applied Digital Solutions, boasts inaccurate figure
================================================== ===================

Applied Digital Solutions, the maker of the VeriChip, prominently
features several press accounts containing the 160 figure on its
websites. Three such stories currently appear on the company's VeriChip
website:

http://www.4verichip.com/nws_08022004.htm
http://www.4verichip.com/nws_07262004.htm
http://www.4verichip.com/nws_07152004.htm

================================

Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN)
is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes
since 1999. With thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states and over 30
countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing
strategies that invade their privacy and to encourage privacy-conscious
shopping habits across the retail spectrum.

For more information, see:
http://www.spychips.com and http://www.nocards.org

================================

Dear CASPIAN members and supporters:

I have disturbing news from the RFID front lines. CASPIAN has uncovered
evidence of industry plans to deploy RFID tracking devices in consumer
clothing items.

A $600 million company called Checkpoint has developed prototype labels
containing RFID spychips for Abercrombie & Fitch, Calvin Klein, and
Champion sportswear. These tags contain tiny computer chips with unique
ID numbers that can be read remotely by anyone with the right
equipment.

CNET picked up the story on Friday, September 24th. You can read it at:
http://networks.silicon.com/lans/0,3...9124341,00.htm

Photos of the spychipped clothing labels can be seen on our website at:
http://www.spychips.com/press-releas...nt-photos.html

Potentially, people wearing the tagged clothing items could be
identified and tracked as they pass through Checkpoint-equipped
doorways
and store portals, as they stand near Checkpoint's retail "smart
shelves" containing hidden RFID reader devices, or when they enter
Checkpoint's planned RFID "smart zones" in stores.

Checkpoint has an infrastructure of anti-theft reader devices already
in
place at stores and libraries around the world. (Look at the bottom of
the next security portal you pass through and you may see the
Checkpoint
name.) These portals could be retrofitted to silently read and record
the unique ID numbers contained in Checkpoint's new clothing tags, or
in
any other item Checkpoint may be tagging.

Since there is no legal requirement for companies to tell consumers
when
products they buy contain RFID tags, this may already be happening.

Earlier this year, Checkpoint announced the purchase of 100 million
RFID
tags from vendor Matrics. Nearly a year ago, a senior Checkpoint
executive boasted that "the technology is ready to pilot," and revealed
that "we're working with forward-thinking consumer product goods
manufacturers and retail clients on pilots."

CASPIAN, on the other hand, will be working with consumers on an
aggressive response to this privacy threat. Roll up your sleeves and
get
ready for a good fight.

In freedom,

Katherine Albrecht
CASPIAN Founder and Director

================================================== ===================
Links to more information:

Checkpoint's RFID-laced clothing labels
http://www.spychips.com/press-releas...nt-photos.html

CASPIAN's press release:
http://www.spychips.com/press-releases/checkpoint.html

CNET article: "Retailer to put RFID chips in all clothing"
http://networks.silicon.com/lans/0,3...9124341,00.htm

Checkpoint is "the world's largest integrator of RFID technology into
consumer product packaging"
http://www.checkpointsystems.com/con...spx?news_id=59

Checkpoint and GOLIATH to use RFID for point-of-purchase advertising
http://www.checkpointsystems.com/con...spx?news_id=61

Checkpoint buys 100 million RFID tags from Matrics
http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/853/1/1/

Checkpoint ready for pilots, demos "smart shelf" and "smart zone"
http://www.checkpointsystems.com/con...spx?news_id=58

Learn more about "smart shelves" from our Gillette boycott site
http://www.boycottgillette.com/spychips.html

================================================== ===================

Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering (CASPIAN)
is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail surveillance schemes
since 1999. With thousands of members in all 50 U.S. states and over 30
countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate consumers about marketing
strategies that invade their privacy and to encourage privacy-conscious
shopping habits across the retail spectrum.

For more information, see:
http://www.spychips.com and http://www.nocards.org

You're welcome to duplicate and distribute this message to others who
may find it of interest.

================================================== ===================
To subscribe or unsubscribe to the CASPIAN mailing list, click the
following link or copy and paste it into your browser:
http://www.nocards.org/cgi/mojo/mojo.cgi

If you have difficulty with the web-based interface, you may also
subscribe or unsubscribe via email by writing to:
[email protected]
================================================== ===================