Home address
Thread Starter
Home address
When flying, airlines, hotels and all manner of other companies want my home address. Sometimes I can get away with leaving this blank, but web forms often won't take no for an answer.
I've got into the habit of giving out a fake, non-existent address so as to lower the risks to me when the company's IT systems are inevitably hacked or data leaks out for whatever reason. Claiming loss through GDPR and the UK ICO is far more trouble than it's worth. GDPR enforcement in many countries by Govt often seems very weak
In the last 10 years, the only airline-originating post I've received has been duty free magazines encouraging me to order alcohol or tobacco in advance of travel. Besides wanting to sell my data, or send me better targeted advertising, are there any good reasons as to why an airline or hotel really *needs* to know where I live ? The only decent reason I can think of is credit card fraud - but airline websites often want a 6 digit verification code from the card issuer at the time of purchase, which pretty much negates any card fraud excuse
I've got into the habit of giving out a fake, non-existent address so as to lower the risks to me when the company's IT systems are inevitably hacked or data leaks out for whatever reason. Claiming loss through GDPR and the UK ICO is far more trouble than it's worth. GDPR enforcement in many countries by Govt often seems very weak
In the last 10 years, the only airline-originating post I've received has been duty free magazines encouraging me to order alcohol or tobacco in advance of travel. Besides wanting to sell my data, or send me better targeted advertising, are there any good reasons as to why an airline or hotel really *needs* to know where I live ? The only decent reason I can think of is credit card fraud - but airline websites often want a 6 digit verification code from the card issuer at the time of purchase, which pretty much negates any card fraud excuse
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 12th Feb 2023 at 05:03.
Credit cards often check against home address when buying on line - other than that its marketing
Its also wise to hide your home address on your luggage - anyone on the bus/train/ checkin line can see it and know you're going to be away for a while.
Its also wise to hide your home address on your luggage - anyone on the bus/train/ checkin line can see it and know you're going to be away for a while.
I think you will find that some of it is related to credit card verification and the rules that credit card companies impose. In the UK, under certain circumstances, the card companies won't approve a transaction without the post code. Yes, that's as well as the two factor authentication.
If I were an hotel operator I would probably like to get your address just in case they have to evacuate the hotel and you don't make it out; they can advise the police who can advise your relatives. There are also some governments who have to be told by the hotel.
If I were an hotel operator I would probably like to get your address just in case they have to evacuate the hotel and you don't make it out; they can advise the police who can advise your relatives. There are also some governments who have to be told by the hotel.
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Paxing All Over The World
I agree that most companies want data for no good reason. Perhaps they think it will be useful for marketing or to sell - I do try to restrict what I give out. Last night we went to a pub restaurant (which I had booked online) and today they wanted a review. I was prepared to do so until the feedback form asked for my postcode. They wanted to know where we were from. The form required it. I could have put in a false one but decided to ditch the feedback all together.
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Business address is the solution, but not for those travelling privately. Perhaps some form of pre-authenticated info would work, rather like being able to sign-in to various websites/apps using Apple/Google/FB etc ID's ? There are way too many risks these days from weak servers and hacking. Only today I read of the millions of DNA info leaked onto the dark-web by the hacking of '23andMe this last year, some of it belonging to the Windsors apparently.In the past it would be deceitful to put 'fake' info for yourself, these days it's almost foolish not to in many cases.
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Paxing All Over The World
Increasingly, banks and card companies want to check that it is you by sending an SMS or using the app to verify. Then you can ignore address. I have noted the full address and postcode of my local health centre and they often get marked up. If the website won't budge without an email address, I have a spare that is a bottomless pit.
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Aren't airlines etc collecting the data to be transferred to the appropriate authorities in the destination country? Supplying incorrect data might raise red flags
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Son of Slot
Super Senior Moderator
Super Senior Moderator
But the OP stated that he puts in a "fake, non-existent address" when booking with airlines and hotels.
Thread Starter
Sonetimes I use a real address to which I have no connection... if they want a real address that passes verification check I sometimes use Buckingham Palace or 10 Downing Street in the UK. I thought during summer of 2021 post-Covid when everybody wanted to know where I lived in case they would have to come to my home and tell me I had been within 100 metres of somebody a week ago in the supermarket who might have had Covid and thus I have to quarantine immediately that these addresses would distract the busybodies. Any serious Govt body (eg police or MI5) will likely find me very easily.
Hotel receptionists are often sufficiently amused that I gave my address on a reservations website as "999 Fake Street, London, UK" that they don't ask for a real address.
Very very occasionally I have to make up a real address - "42 Station Road, London" will usually suffice as being sufficiently vague as to be impossible to use.
A UK mobile number of +44-7987-654321 will usually get past any phone-number-check algorithm on websites if necessary.
Hotel receptionists are often sufficiently amused that I gave my address on a reservations website as "999 Fake Street, London, UK" that they don't ask for a real address.
Very very occasionally I have to make up a real address - "42 Station Road, London" will usually suffice as being sufficiently vague as to be impossible to use.
A UK mobile number of +44-7987-654321 will usually get past any phone-number-check algorithm on websites if necessary.
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 20th Oct 2023 at 17:44.
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Which is fine if the information is being collected for marketing data, but if it is going for official use and they decide to cross check the data, or have algorithms which check for obviously incomplete or false addresses...
Thread Starter
Earlier this week, I got caught out in a (rather authoritarian) country when the passport number given to the airline as ID for my flight out of the country didn't match up to the passport number I was using on the visa to enter and exit the country (I was carrying 2 passports at the time). A bit of sweet-talking to the police officer who caught me out and his superiors... and all was resolved within the hour. Admittedly the police did decide to escort me to the aircraft door to make sure I definitely left but it seemed relatively good natured. Even in countries which don't tolerate any sort of free speech, the authorities have bigger things to worry about than the home address of a tourist.
Last edited by davidjohnson6; 20th Oct 2023 at 18:26.
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That's fine in theory but every country has its jobsworths and something like non-matching numbers is god-send for them as you can't really argue - the numbers or the dates don't match , they're right and you're wrong. How wrong depends how much they want to push it.
having spent several hours in durance vile in C Russia I can vouch for the irritation caused. Luckily I was sprung by the local Aeroflot manager who came in and beat on them until they handed me over...............
having spent several hours in durance vile in C Russia I can vouch for the irritation caused. Luckily I was sprung by the local Aeroflot manager who came in and beat on them until they handed me over...............
One should/must supply real data to the Department of Motor Vehicles for drivers license and car registration. The problem here in the colonies is some states sell DMV data to marketing companies.
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Paxing All Over The World
Not just in the colonies. The 'mother' country have made much money by selling our data. Sometimes you have to look carefully to make sure to tick <or untick> the correct box.
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I've had calls in the past where there has been an issue with the hotel and they were not taking guests.
One, which happened to be a Premier Inn, had already booked me into another one close by and asked first if that was okay?, then giving me the address of the new place so my journey was not interrupted.
The last thing I would need is to travel half way round the world and upon arrival at the hotel, find out that there is a problem. Much better fore-warned.
So there are good reasons for wanting genuine information from you. It's not all for marketing.
One, which happened to be a Premier Inn, had already booked me into another one close by and asked first if that was okay?, then giving me the address of the new place so my journey was not interrupted.
The last thing I would need is to travel half way round the world and upon arrival at the hotel, find out that there is a problem. Much better fore-warned.
So there are good reasons for wanting genuine information from you. It's not all for marketing.
Son of Slot
Super Senior Moderator
Super Senior Moderator
At the other end of the scale and a slight thread drift. {That's OK, I approve. [signed] S.o.S.}
A finance company I do business with, I needed to change something on my personal profile. I was glad that they wanted two step verification to ensure that it was me and that included a pass-code sent to my mobile.
After I had logged in, I went straight to alter the item and the site then asked for two-step verification and sent another code to the same mobile phone as they had two minutes earlier. Given that their system could easily tell that it was the same me, on the same computer, in the same session? Their IT systems are often so cr@p that they need multiple entries of address and other data. It would not surprise me that they cannot keep track of clients and might easily have multiple address' for one.
A finance company I do business with, I needed to change something on my personal profile. I was glad that they wanted two step verification to ensure that it was me and that included a pass-code sent to my mobile.
After I had logged in, I went straight to alter the item and the site then asked for two-step verification and sent another code to the same mobile phone as they had two minutes earlier. Given that their system could easily tell that it was the same me, on the same computer, in the same session? Their IT systems are often so cr@p that they need multiple entries of address and other data. It would not surprise me that they cannot keep track of clients and might easily have multiple address' for one.
Senora A worked for a very large financial institution
When they decided to move/upgrade their systems the effort required to solve inadvertent duplication of ID's was immense - accounts for the same person were (at various times) logged primarily by Surname, FIrst name, initials and surname , post code, first line of address, the guy who'd sold the product, the company that had sold the product, DOB............................
I think they eventually went to a big Indian IT outfit who had some superb software that trawled the data bases and sorted it out. But that was a team of 15 people working for a year. In the end the real problem was that old legacy data bases kept popping up - seemly totally undocumented but still plugged in and beavering away in the background.
When they decided to move/upgrade their systems the effort required to solve inadvertent duplication of ID's was immense - accounts for the same person were (at various times) logged primarily by Surname, FIrst name, initials and surname , post code, first line of address, the guy who'd sold the product, the company that had sold the product, DOB............................
I think they eventually went to a big Indian IT outfit who had some superb software that trawled the data bases and sorted it out. But that was a team of 15 people working for a year. In the end the real problem was that old legacy data bases kept popping up - seemly totally undocumented but still plugged in and beavering away in the background.
Fake mobile numbers are unlikely to get past validation services such as this one:
https://www.data-8.co.uk/solutions/d...ne-validation/
https://www.data-8.co.uk/solutions/d...ne-validation/