Parents--warn your kids about how recruiters can get their personal info

[renate]

(The first part of the story is about how a fourteen-year-old kid got a recruitment letter from the Army National Guard. How did the National Guard get his personal information? Simple...)

His mother ... is livid. "We're not talking about buying a CD. We're talking about a military commitment," TJ Browning said. "And nowhere does it say, 'Tell your parents, share this with your parents, ask your parents for their advice.'"

On the contrary: The enclosed questionnaire asked Avery for his cell-phone number and e-mail address and insisted "only a recruiter can advise you on what special benefits you qualify for."

"If an adult called my son at home, my radar would be up," Browning said. "But if he had an Army recruiter calling him on his cell phone, I wouldn't have a clue. And don't you think that over the next four years, that Army recruiter would be the kid's new best friend?

(snip)

Asked how a 14-year-old ended up on a Defense Department mailing list, (the ad agency spokesman) blamed an Internet "scheme" called co-registration: Companies offer free T-shirts simply to acquire the personal info of the teenage recipient. "The T-shirt is a small price to pay for that information," he said.

The spokesman said that they were prohibited by law from giving the kid's name and information to a military recruiter. Uh huh.

http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/steve_duin/index.ssf?/base/news/116776230278100.xml&coll=7

[JuniperLea]

1. My daughter and her friends have had

Recruiter Martinez on their asses for over four years now. She told me right away and we had quite the discussion... complete with snappy comebacks for his sorry ass.

A friend of nearly 20 years told me recently that her son got the full treatment from a recruiter and he has already decided to sign up. Nothing she can do. So terribly sad.

[Bjornsdotter]

2. I has a Marine recruiter come to my house

....wanting to talk to my 17 year old daughter.

We had words...me polite and firm. However I did tell him that my daughter was a minor and I forbid him to contact her, in person or on the phone.

We still get mailings, but so far no more surprises at the door.

Cheers