There are quite a few cases where an online merchant or service provider will quote you a strict statement just to show how serious they are about respecting your privacy, and then sell your ID data to anyone who will buy. In general, acquiring personal info under false pretenses should be treated the same as ID theft which in turn should be treated as a felonious offense. Any corporate-wide use, or more accurately "misuse", of stolen personal information for the purpose of making a profit should be prosecuted under the RICO statutes. I have yet to see the Federal government crack down on ID theft the way I'd like them to.

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