Online petitions...know where your information is being used for

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With so many folks dissatisfied with so many things that are going on in this country the popularity of online petitions is increasing at a fast pace. There are two important things that you need to know before adding your name to one. Simply adding your name, or your name and your state to a list is a waste of time. Your full address is needed for any petition to be valid. The online petitions that ask you to register your name at their website potentially carry more clout because they ask for names and addresses, although there is still the lack of a signature. In both cases the question of whether the names and addresses have been fabricated or borrowed cannot be confirmed. The biggest question with regard to online petitions, however, is who is sponsoring them and why? Make sure that this information is available because, first and foremost, you want to know that the petition will be presented to the politicians or offices indicated. Hundreds of thousands of people have given their personal information including addresses, business information, and email addresses to websites that are nothing more than harvesters of mailing lists. This information is a gold mine for marketers who use the lists to send various kinds of solicitations and they can make a fortune renting or selling the names to other businesses. Many online petition sites have become a great source of not only new names for mailing lists but names of people who can be identified as having particular interests such as supporting conservative or liberal causes, environmental issues, animals rights, etc. Unfortunately, these lists can also make their way to the many online scammers who prey on the innocent and trusting among us. According to a group I belong to, dedicated to fighting online scams, fake lottery winner notifications have been circulating based on this new source of mailing lists. So, if you're tempted to sign an online petition, make sure the sponsoring site either discloses who owns, sponsors, or runs the site either individually or organizationally. Don't accept vague descriptions such as, "Our site has been organized by people who believe in protecting the environment."