Target Stores Scanning ID’s

I learned about this story from Papersplease.org in which a man, trying to simply buy some Nicorette gum which requires age confirmation, had his driver’s license swiped by the cashier. He asked why and she obviously didn’t know.

Now, during checkout, the cashier asks to “see” my driver’s license. Alright, since I’ve been carded before buying controlled substances, I figure she needs to check my age.

Before I have a chance to realize exactly what’s going on, the cashier swipes my driver’s license through the register. The machine then kicks and spasms out my receipt. Whoa!

I inquire, “What information, if any, was captured from my license?”

I get that deer-in-the-headlights what-ya-talk’n-bout glaze. She’d never thought about, or was apparently never asked, why she was physically scanning driver’s licenses.

“You asked to ’see’ my license, but you swiped it. Big difference,” I say.

She looks at my receipt and says that maybe they’re tracking it for Health Savings Account purposes.

I’m not buying it, but it’s clear the cashier wasn’t trained or hadn’t been properly explained to by management about what, if anything, is being captured when the license is swiped.

Full article continues…

~ by Anya on August 13, 2008.