Recently I wrote an article about why so many stores ask for your ZIP code at check-out. With your name and ZIP they can turn to outside data brokers to learn your address, phone number and email ...

Next time a store clerk asks for your address, your phone number, your ZIP code or your vaccination certificate before allowing you to use your plastic, say "no" and let MasterCard and Visa hear ...

Learn the history and meaning of usps postal codes, why it's called a ZIP code, whether a postal code is a ZIP code, and what ZIP code numbers stand for.

Some merchants ask for a ZIP code for benign reasons. They might be looking to expand - and they want to pinpoint locations that would be particularly attractive to customers. Need a break?

The California decision involved a Williams-Sonoma customer who alleged the company used her ZIP code to locate her home address.