Info is one of the most effective commodities around and information about anybody and everybody is being bought and sold constantly, even without their understanding or consent. MasterCard, for instance, was recently exposed to be offering information about consumers and their shopping habits to stores. Resource for this article:
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MasterCard customers can now enjoy ads tailored to their shopping habits
Data about what you do, see and like is being sold on the internet all the time. Most people do not even realize they leave a data trail every time they do anything, especially when it is stuff taking place online.
A ton of
cash is spent paying Facebook for information on what companies we “like” on Facebook. All your marketing at that point ends up being based on what you “like.”
Marketers also have access to the spending habits of MasterCard consumers now. The company sells all the data out now, according to the Daily Mail.
Totally secure, they say
According to Wired magazine, the story was initially leaked by the Financial Times, the English equal of the Wall Street Journal with the distinctive salmon-colored paper. The information came from a podcast and presentation given by MasterCard, which was supposedly confidential but clearly isn't anymore.
Only United States companies will have access to the “MasterCard Audiences” program, which is the name of it. It would be much harder to pull this off in other nations where consent would first be required. The merchants do not get any sensitive info about the customer, such as the name, address or more.
That seems odd, since it seems almost impossible to industry directly to someone without knowing who they are, where they live, etc.
MasterCard sells certain related info sets to retailers who can market to those sets, according to Daily Mail. The MasterCard info is gathered whenever somebody utilizes their MasterCard online or in store.
Not the only ones
MasterCard isn't really alone in doing this, according to CNBC, as Visa and American Express both likewise data mine transaction records to sell as marketing info to various entities. Trafficking in customer in user info is an enormous industry; almost anything one does online results in some business offering information about it to some other company that thinks they can entire people to purchase their stuff.
There are tracking cookies that simply monitor what you are doing online and internet behavior. People do not want their information sold, and, at the very least, think they should get part of the cash if it is info about them.
Sources
Daily Mail
Wired
CNBC
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