How Creepy Is This???

I had a George Orwell "Big Brother" kind of moment today and I just had to share. I learned the hard way over New Year's weekend that my SideKick can't swim. No, I did not drop it in the toilet...it ended up in a cooler...and no...no alcohol was involved. How did it end up in a cooler you ask? It's a long story but just trust me that electronics and ice are not a good combination!

This morning I went to the store to replace my SideKick and discovered that I had insurance on the darn thing. Who knew? I'm sure I did when I signed up for it but since then had forgotten. So I called the insurance company to make a claim. After some very serious hoop jumping and a ridiculously involved menu-driven system I was finally connected to a real live person. Several times during our conversation the customer service person shared with me how seriously they take fraudulent claims and identity theft. I thought to myself...Good for you...now can we just replace my SideKick? After answering a million questions and admitting that my SideKick died an icy death I was told I would be asked several multiple choice questions to verify my identity. Okey dokey...fire away.

The first question I was asked is which street address meant something to me. I was given 4 choices including the old faithful - none of the above. One of the addresses that the customer service rep read was the address of the first home I ever owned way back in 1986. Wow, pretty thorough I thought but I'm sure they could find that info on my credit report.

The second question I was asked if any of the town names she read off meant anything to me. One of the towns listed was my home town. The rep pronounced it incorrectly but lots of people not from around here do and again that info would be included on my credit report.

Then came the last question. The rep told me that she would list 3 names and I was to tell her if any of them meant anything to me. The second name she read off was my younger sister's married name. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up. I said, "that's pretty creepy that you know that." The rep responded, "It's a matter of public record." So I said, "Okay, then it's publicly creepy and what public record contains my name, Patti's married name, and the fact that we are sisters?" I was not given an answer. Is it me or is that really unsettling?

I've been thinking all day where would that kind of information be stored and why on Earth would a company that insures phones have access to it? By the way, Patti and I do not use the same cell phone provider, we do not have the same last name and haven't in over 20 years, we do not have any joint accounts or any other obvious things that would make that information readily available. We are both at a loss as to where that information would have come from. My mom's obituary? My parent's beneficiary information?

I'm sure I'm overreacting...and I'm not trying to deny Patti is my sister (not since I was a teenager anyway) but it still gives me the creeps to think how much someone can learn about you with just a few clicks of a mouse.