Want to know what your mom might have purchased for your birthday? Want to know which houses in your neighborhood have really nice expensive TVs?
Sears provides a website, www.ManageMyHome.com where anyone can look up anyone elses' entire purchase history at Sears—using only their name and address. This is especially convenient because these strange men keep dropping off huge lists of names and addresses on our door every year (we think they're called "phone books") and we never really knew what to do with them.
Apparently, all you need to do is create an account at www.managemyhome.com, click "Find Sears Products" and enter a name, address and phone number.
From the CA Security Advisor Research Blog:
With their consent we have tested this technique with other individuals and have received reliable results every time. If they'd had major dealings with Sears, that information is now available to the public, from a television bought in 1978 to a stove which was purchased elsewhere but had been repaired by a Sears technician.Says Kurt, the reader who sent this tip in: "I was able to look up my entire family's purchases. This is a scary one."
Is Sears evil or what?
UPDATE: Rumor has it that all you really need is someone's name and phone number.
]]>I'm not going to forget what my house looks like!
I can see it now:
phone rings
Hello, this is sears, we noticed your siding could use an update. We called your contractor and he can offer you a great deal on installing our siding.
]]>PS their website is not secured...
]]>Here's the text of one of them
"How to bring up a list of my laundry appliances that I purchased at Sears?
Please list my laundry equipment purchases and explain how I can call up a list of my Sears purchases.
Expert Answer
Once you have registered and logged in. Place the cursor over MY HOME and click on Getting started. Click on VIEW MY PURCHASE HISTORY.
If you need assistance with bringing up you purchase history. Click on Contact Us at the top of the page, or email at history@contact.managemyhome.com."
When I searched my parent's home, it didn't come up with anything at first. I had to put their area code from 20 years ago to get results (same home--the area code has changed twice). Of course I don't think the feature is available anymore.
]]>It does look like it was taken down sometime later that day, although their help section still had mention of it. I don't know about today.
I didn't input those purchases, they were there for the viewing based on warranty data, it seems. There were a dozen appliance/electronic purchases listed for one of my family members, two for me, and a handful for my parents. Some of the purchases dated back to the mid '90s.
It did happen, and it was a very bad idea. Good think they stopped it.
]]>Sears also cross-indexes purchases. I bought a shopvac online for my dad's birthday, and I used my parents' address (sadly, despite the fact that I moved out two years ago, their address is still my address for my credit card and bank cards and such). Sears send me stupid online updates all the time.
The other week, I got an email reminding me to change the filter in my fridge. Wha? I open it, and it turns out they are reminding me to change the filter in my parents' fridge. I assume the email was b/c we live at the same address, but I still find it odd.
]]>The information comes from you. It's not mined from credit cards or receipts. If you didn't sign up for it then the information isn't there.
I love all the FUD.
Just like the spyware; Shopping sears.com doesn't install squat on your machine. I tried it. Nothing. The Spyware thingy is buried on some page for some option (join the community) that noone has any compelling reason to go to or install.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of other reasons to not shop Sears. No reason to spin obscure technical issues to justify it.
]]>It's been turned off.
]]>@pepe the king prawn: Sorry, but good luck getting shit done in the store if you lose your reciept.
]]>Their application is full spyware.
]]>Suspicious, isn't it?
]]>I always give them the name of my imaginary childhood friend, the address of the central police station and the phone number for the theft department.
]]>Just tried creating an account so I can look at other folks and it stalled. I couldn't get one created.
]]>I did sweat a little when I read the article title that said "everything"
I go to sears essentials for sundries--nothing scandalous, but still I was worried about seeing a nice list of personal items and such
when I checked the site was kind of finicky and I had to put in an old area code to get it to work for my parent's home, but nobody in my family had any items listed older than 12 years
]]>@pepe the king prawn:
so, calmly, i gave her:
herman munster
1313 mockingbird ln
mockingbird heights, in 66600
Did she go for it? Anyone under the age of 30 might not have ever seen the show...
]]>I am trying to find a manual for a lawn tractor but cannot seem to find "find products" in the home section of Manage My Home. How do I get to the search page?
Expert Answer
I am sorry if you had trouble, some Internet issues were recently resolved that may have caused your problems. The direct link to the search page is:
It looks like they are just letting you search for your manuals now.
]]>service is now unavailable. viva la revolution!
]]>I can't find the feature. Did they pull it allready?
]]>@misteral: Damn right. What's even scarier is when stuff like this has been through the goddamn legal department and it *still* takes a programmer working on final implementation to see a problem.
]]>Wow. I just got the word 'sex' for the word verification on the search. They're really going all out for this one, aren't they!
]]>This right here is just stupid. It's asking for trouble, and I have a very hard time believing this actually slipped through the cracks and into the wild.
]]>This will be fun once it hits TV News.
]]>(don't mind me while i sit here patting my 4 years of email archives for that very reason...)
]]>@pepe the king prawn: let me guess, she was too young to know anything about the munsters.
]]>i recently bought a garage door opener at sears (it was on sale). i was asked for my name, address, and phone number for the "warranty purposes." i told the cashier that the receipt was good enough to prove i bought it there. she said "no it isn't."
so, calmly, i gave her:
herman munster
1313 mockingbird ln
mockingbird heights, in 66600
The original article brings up an excellent point, that knowing such details about a particular model or brand of appliance inside a home would automatically lower an owners' guard and the potential for a social engineering scam is great.
"surely if they know what oven I have, this *must* be Sears on the phone asking for my credit card!"
]]>Apparently my parents have purchased many many things at Sears.
This is very bad.
]]>I'm a professional burglar as well, and I use the database to look up potential targets. But I try to avoid those households with a lot of Sears products. I prefer to go after higher-end type household goods.
Will I see you at the next National Convention of Theft Professionals?
]]>being able to look at strangers' shopping habbits w/ a name and phone number - bad idea.
]]>I don't think you have to volunteer your address, if you pay by debit or credit card they've got your address.
]]>so since sears owns k-mart, i wonder if they'll be next, or if their information is already on there.
]]>yeah for expensive home theatre stuff that is a potential burglar.
But unless you're having it delivered - why would anyone (at least us) volunteer their home address?
]]>And that's why this site unsettles people.
]]>This is one of the worst ideas ever.
]]>@homerjay: beat me to it!
]]>one MORE reason to never shop at sears.
]]>clearly the programmers didn't think this through. but really, you'd need a strange mind and lots of free time to start researching people's name, address, phone number, etc., all required fields -- to get to know what the neighbor paid for the new snow blower.
]]>I am a bit confused. Can you view other people's purchases even if they haven't signed up? I wonder because, reading the privacy policy, you agree to share your personal information. Check it out.
]]>i would just not give them my address or name. then what? i've bought things from their before, and never ended up in their list. i think its because i paid cash and don't give any personal information to a cashier.
]]>Tho, if they did, would they carry lifetime replacement?
]]>