Comments on: Is the TSA “trying to scare me into providing personal information”?

By: LB

LB — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 23:57:11 +0000

Actually there are scams out there using this info to get people to click on a link after which a malware is downloaded on your PC and then a hacker can steal your info. Got a fake email today asking me to click on a link to update Delta info. When I went to the Delta site nothing like that existed. Went back and checked the links in the email and they were all fake.

Bottom line: NEVER CLICK ON A LINK WITHIN AN EMAIL.
Instead always go to the actual site and check.

By: Duke Nukem

Duke Nukem — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:42:12 +0000

Give TSA personal information? Sheesh! You give more info on your Facebook page!

By: Think Before You Send: TSA + Airline + ESP = Phishing Scare | Not Just Another Marketing Blog

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:05:38 +0000

[...] the ESP have been obscured because the purpose of this post is not to blame or embarrass anyone (this is not the only such incident), but to emphasize how important it is to think about all the messages, both explicit and implicit, [...]

By: Ames

Ames — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:44:14 +0000

BTW, little mister two middle names has been helped by putting all of his names on airline tickets. When he was eight, we discovered that his name was a match for a watch list person and he could not get a boarding pass in advance. We went through the TSA process to identify him by submitting his identification to Washington with no relief and only because he has a passport was he able to get on flights several times. Now that I put his entire name on the ticket his passes go right through.

By: Ames

Ames — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:37:37 +0000

Oana-Maria, you have my total understanding and sympathy! I have a comparatively simple name, Ann-Marie, but also fall victim to the hyphen problem, it seems the computer logic tries to subtract one word from the other and cannot. So with no hyphen, it becomes Annmarie or Ann M. and I am the bxxtch for wanting my own name to be correct. On top of it, I was not given a middle name. This is not limited to airlines though, credit cards, car registry and so on try to have their way.

The next peeve, which I assume you also have is how to pronounce your name. What is wrong with a properly ennunciated Ann pause Marie? I get Ammeree more often than I can count and it is like fingernails on a chalk board.

Just to make things more interesting, my son has TWO middle names, because we could not decide and just strung them along. That seems to be easier to fill the spaces, but is challenging for a monogrammed shirt.

By: deb

deb — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 19:16:01 +0000

For years airline ticket names and name’s on ID were to match!. Where have you all been? I do find it hard to now ask for DOB and sex of traveler. Oh but the airlines and TSA will let a minor’s check infor flights without any type of legal docummation.

By: David Z

David Z — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:32:05 +0000

My guess is that someone will sue an airline when their data is compromised and the government will again wash their hands of any responsibility.

I don’t have a ready link, but JetBlue was sued for violating their privacy policy when they turned over passenger name records (PNRs) to the government. But…the plaintiffs didn’t demonstrate material damages (I think) that time.

The airlines will be hardpressed for sure to guarantee that. Won’t. Happen.

By: Oana-Maria

Oana-Maria — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 09:01:37 +0000

I’m one of those europeans brainwashed after 60 years of communism, as someone nicely put in a comment. Which is why I have been refusing, for the past few years, to travel and spend loads of greenies in your oh so free country, because albeit brainwashed, I’m not a criminal and until I am, no one, and even less so a government, will have my fingerprints (a must for us second-hand citizens of the world if we wish to jump over the pond). Now, I am aware that most of us are not happy with the names that our parents in their endless wisdom (or sometimes inebriation when declaring offspring) bestowed on us. I also am aware that when marriage comes into play, it can all get more complicated (marriage does that to everything).
However, THAT IS OUR BLOODY name. James, not Jim, Jimbo, or Jamie (although a cruel joke might have named you Jimbo on government issued paper). How difficult is it to have your official papers in one and the same and the only darn name you were given? And how on earth can you possibly forget you’re called Nicholas, even if everyone calls you Nick? I agree that it’s none of their damn business what my age is when I travel, unless they ask so I can get some sort of discount or gratuity like lap babies or senior citizens. But a name is part of your identity, and unless you have it changed officially to be whatever you wish it to be, you’re stuck with it so just use it properly and stop moaning or expecting people to “understand” when you don’t.
I have the opposite issue when I travel to Canada-Air Canada refuses to put my full name on my ticket (I’m Oana-Maria, officially and unofficially, and I’m not an exotic dancer to get a stage name or a nickname, whatever you wish to call it). the agent “explained” that they can not use hyphens and spaces on tickets (the system doesn not “accept” them as if the system made the people and not the other way around). So I had to give in and buy the tickets that stupid woman issued, on which I was charmingly called Oanamar. Well guess what, I had the bright idea to print my e-mail exchange with her, and that was the only way the check-in agent in London allowed me to check in on my flight: Miss, the name on your passport doesn’t match the one on your reservation. Well tell that to your bloody system, will you?????????

By: Ted

Ted — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:50:18 +0000

Are the agencies who maintain the watchlists also going to update the million or so names to include middle names, gender, and birth date? If not, how is “Secure Flight” going to do anything to improve the accuracy of the matching? And I won’t even ask how the matching does anything to improve the security of aviation.

As with everything else about the TSA, this “enhancement” is guaranteed to make air travel more difficult for many people. Passengers will be hassled (or worse) for mismatched tickets and identity documents, and also because of “false positive” matches with the watchlists. And we’ll never understand how or why the extra hassle does anything to improve security.

By: DN

DN — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:59:07 +0000

What makes it even more interesting is that some travel agencies put “MR” or “MRS” in the middle of the passenger’s name (I think it’s AmEx, but I shred my boarding passes once I get credit on the airline website). So, my name could be LASTNAME FIRSTNAME MR MIDDLE INITIAL. I guarantee that won’t be on my government ID!

Also, a co-worker noticed that, if he didn’t book his ticket with his middle initial on the boarding pass, TSA put him through extra security – because his name is similar to an Irish terrorist. When he had his middle initial on the boarding pass name, he goes right through. *shrug*

By: James

James — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:18:34 +0000

It seems to me that no one has mentioned the security of the ever-increasing personal information we are expected to surrender to airlines. How secure are the sites? Let’s say we accept American Airlines as having a secure site – are AeroMexico and Great Lakes Aviation sites as secure? This seems like another asbestos situation to me. The government REQUIRED companies to use asbestos and then refused to protect them when they were sued. My guess is that someone will sue an airline when their data is compromised and the government will again wash their hands of any responsibility.

By: David Triggle

David Triggle — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:25:29 +0000

“Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Lord Acton

The next step will be having to submit travel plans in advance to TSA to get their approval. That will put us in the same league as a number of other well known “democracies”.

By: Carl Wolf

Carl Wolf — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 12:48:53 +0000

“‘Everyone shall be free to leave any country, including his own,’ and ‘No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own country.’”

So, according to Eddie, travels visas are illegal. Another one of your other articles mentions that getting the required travel documents are the passenger’s responsibility…and that includes passport, passport card, and visas.

By: David Z

David Z — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:41:44 +0000

I ordered the tickets in August from Continental using my member account.

For those among you with registered accounts with your preferred travel vendors, better login and update your account names to match those on the government-issued ID/s you plan to bring with you.

This indeed seems absurd. But…it depends what and how many people want for this sort of thing, and you’ve got various people with various wants that usually oppose one another.

By: S.E. Davenport

S.E. Davenport — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:41:47 +0000

This past Christmas I had much difficulty with my flight. I ordered the tickets in August from Continental using my member account. Unfortunately that account had my nickname. This nickname didn’t match my driver’s license. I didn’t notice the discrepancy , but the screener did. I had to wait at the check-in counter, then was put into a separate line ; finally I was cleared through. I called the airline trying to get a change before my return flight. I was told NO changes can be made to a ticket after one part had been used. I went to the airport early (thank goodness) because similar problems occurred. I ended up having to go through the full body screen. Once home, I wrote to Continental to request a name change and provided documentation. It took the airline 6 weeks to make the change . The only way I knew the change had been made was when I accessed my account. No notice was sent .