Food services Don't Need My ID To Serve Me

Martin McKeay observes a disturbing trend in the marketplace. Please read the entire article here. Note a couple of quotes below:

"This is a disturbing trend I've been hearing more and more lately: bars and restaurants are asking for ID's and/or storing your ID information in their database before they'll serve you. This is a trend that has to be nipped in the bud before smart criminals start taking advantage of this well intentioned but misguided attempt at safeguarding food service profits. The potential for abuse, either by simply stealing ID's or the databases containing the recorded data is too tempting to remain unexploited for long."

"As a consumer, it's your responsibility to keep your private information private. It's not appropriate for any business to want to physically hold your ID while you wait to be seated or are dining. If a restaurant has that little trust and respect for their customers, they shouldn't be in business. The risk of having your identity stolen is not worth giving up private information when you could just walk down the street to the next bar. We, as consumers, need to understand that our information should not be stored any more than absolutely necessary, since every instance of that storage represents another potential avenue for compromise. But you have to say 'no' and let business owners know it's not okay to ask to have your ID."