(I wrote about this as being older, I find that community life is now, in the 21st Century, far more complex than ever before and you need to be computer smart – someone said: that the New York Times week-end edition contains more information than a 17th century person would have gained in a life-time!) – the above featured picture: generated by AI
Recently I received a letter from CIRO* (Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization) informing me that there had been a cyber security attack/breach on their records and to give me some protection against possible future attempts (scamming or misuse of my info), they offered two (2) years of personal identity and financial assurance/insurance via Equifax**. Of course, for that I had to register as an Equifax customer (who somehow or other already knew about me – how did that happen?).
Now as a small investor I was not aware that my name was located anywhere at the CIRO office. Checking through however, I searched and noted (never gave it any attention before!) that my personal Mutual Fund advisor’s connected Capital funds firm is a member of CIRO (it is on their letter head). In fact, to be a legitimate certified financial company (selling stock, mutual funds etc) they need/must adhere to the coded investment industry common strict rules, managed as members of CIRO, a financial watchdog (for the small and big investors) in Canada. Doing this search made me think, what else is there that I do not know about who has my (financial) records?
Let’s go back to 1960. After high school graduation, as my first job, I was a bank employee. In the branch I served at, we had a couple of thousand customer accounts, Savings, Personal Checking and Business Current accounts. Ordinary people could walk into the bank and open an account; state your name and address, maybe a phone number and employer, sometimes to get it right we would ask for ID and so after getting a signature on the ‘account detail card’ and assigned a number, you had your bank account. The deposit(s) and withdrawals were noted in a little book and you were now our customer. In future dealings you would ‘personally’ attend at the branch, present your book and conduct your business. Cash was king, but sometimes you could write cheques. If you had your pass-book, you could access your account and your signature would (could) be compared by the teller to the bank’s records. Records were only maintained at the branch and locked in the vault at the end of the day. Ok simple and safe.
Nowadays, we do things over the internet. No signatures are compared; no personal attendance necessary and the whole world is your playing/investing/banking field. Wow, is that an eye opener for everyone! And I mean everyone in the world, even the bad guys. Yes, especially the bad guys!
Why, even yesterday morning at 8:15 AM (at breakfast) I received a call with a Montreal code of 613, from a person with a very rapid foreign accent telling me that there had been suspicious ‘Activity From My IP Address’ on my internet connection that could expose me to bad issues; but he could help. I asked him for details: first I asked him what his phone area code was, he said Montreal and that fit with the number I saw on my phone screen, then he gave me my name, address, postal code and IP supplier. I knew at that point that this was a scam because he said the wrong IP (Internet Provider). I told him that he was a scammer and politely said good-bye and hung up. Now how did he know all these things about me? 21st Century digital information know-how! My information is like a giant billboard hanging in the sky!
I say this because when I checked at Equifax I noticed (after I opened my Equifax account to obtain CIRO protection) that I had already been counted and IDed with a number. This number 854 tells the world that I am an ‘excellent’ person. Good to deal with and have considerable means to conduct commerce in the world. It even speaks to my honesty and status with corroborating info of my financial and personal details. Again, like a giant billboard in the sky! I am trustworthy because I have (am) a number in the range of ‘good guys and girls’. This number now becomes my ID and can be accessed by anyone.
Come back with me to 1975. I am still a banker and the bank has introduced a new system for customer lending. Your personal information has now become a sum of scored numbers, every bit of your info is now worth so many points. The score goes up if you have lived at your present address many years, it goes up if you have been employed many years, your salary range determines your score, your occupation determines your score, your present borrowings determines (or decreases) your score, if your wife works determines your score, if you have 2 or less children it increases your score, but 3 or more children it decreases your score and at 5 or more**** gets you a big nothing, zero! Why? the sum of this scoring will, they said, help identify loan risks and anyone below the sum of 200 magic cut-off points, would not be in the bank’s interest to deal with. The business of the branch and its customer make up, is now all reflected in scores, even to the evaluation of the bank manager’s judgement. They said, you could determine future management issues and lending risks by info given and credit dispersed on the basis of customer scores.
Since then, this idea of scoring is now the norm. It is done on all financial transactions, job evaluations, credit card limits, insurance and every other type of interaction between people and organizations. And I know from my banking experience that scoring can be helpful, don’t get me wrong.
But, how do you feel being reduced to a number? To be known by your number. Not you personally but your number. Well?
The minimum score necessary to get a credit card in Canada is set at 660. However you can get a ‘Neo Secured Mastercard’ *** if your score is between 330 and 559. A score of 560 is a fair credit risk, a 660 is good, 720 very good and 760 and above excellent. So, there you have it, we are all just numbers. A low score also gets you a higher loan interest charge, as high as 31%. And at the suggested monthly payment it will go on forever!
Now today, more of our daily routines are marked by computers; and as you know they run on numbers. Credit scores can easily be inserted into the ‘value’ of you. Your habits, your health, job accomplishments, your car driving record, your doctor visits, your contacts with the law, your attachments to organizations, your memberships, your health, your voting habits, your nationality, your trips abroad and to where, your living habits, your loan repayment schedules, can all be measured in numbers. The list is endless. Unless you live in a cave on a far away world, every interaction in this world is now recorded, scored, studied and dissected as to your value. Not just yours but businesses, organizations and even nations have a number. Everything is a number. And the most upsetting is that this is valuable and is sold and transported everywhere, top info for a lot of actions and dealings in the whole world. Now AI can determine yours and my future. Now that can be in a ‘blitz’ of a second. Scary isn’t it?
Ancient truth stories tell many wonderful revealing things. One is, there is nothing new ‘under the sun’. What has been, now is and will be again. It is the way of life!
Consider this tale: At a state celebration banquet held in Babylon by the great king Belshazzar (553 BC) attended by thousands of his officials and their wives; a mysterious hand suddenly appears writing on the wall. It writes: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN.” ‘You have been weighed (counted) and found wanting!’ This panicked the king and all his officials. And the tale goes on: that very night, under the cloak of darkness, Belshazzar, the Chaldean king of Babylonia, was killed. Then Darius the Mede, in his 62nd year, gained control of the kingdom.+
Is this, what all of this number taking will get us in the end? Counting the cards we hold? Conflict, jealousy, domination, tyranny, war………….the strong (high scores) will always win?
Yeah, I know, why be so pessimistic?
I guess, I want to make sure you know that our lives are complex and dangerous…………and to tell you the truth, I really wrote this to warn myself and to be safe and not get scammed into trouble…….++ life is precious! Always ask that stupid question: Why?…….and if the answer is something you do not understand, ask someone you trust for advice……things and people, are not what they appear to be……..but together we are stronger!
Jesus said: “Blessed are the poor, the meek, the humble, the mournful, the peacemakers, the merciful, the honest and those that have pure motives; yes especially those with true empathy; only those with all these human qualities are the ones that will inherit the earth and will see the kingdom of God” (Gospel of Matthew chapter 5)
Peace be with you!
JS January 28th, 2026
According to my MS Copilot search: CIRO, short for the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization, is Canada’s national self-regulatory body that oversees both investment and mutual fund dealers. It was formed as the successor to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA), with the goal of protecting investors and upholding the integrity of Canada’s capital markets. By bringing together the regulatory duties of these two organizations, CIRO plays a key role in ensuring compliance and maintaining market standards.
**Also my other search: Equifax Canada Inc is one of two credit bureaus which are private companies in Canada, that (the other being TransUnion Canada) collect, store, and share information about how Canadians use credit.
***if you borrow on your card you may be charged up to 31% interest, a beastly amount that may never be repaid, all based on your score.
**** As a bank employee I could borrow at special low bank rates. I bought a new car and borrowed from the bank. My score was just under 200 because I had 5 children. 2 children would have been better and would have scored me above the 200. By my low score I was a ‘bad risk’. Another example: As bank manager, I authorized a small loan (before credit cards) to a man with 7 children to help them over a financial crunch, (I think it was a car repair), and his score was not quite 200. The bank evaluation team criticized the loan (and my knowing of my customers) and pointed out that 7 children would be a disaster. I in turn argued that he loved his family and would do anything to meet his responsibilities.
+See: Book of the prophet Daniel chapter 5 verse 25 to 28 Tr. the Voice-from biblegateway.com
++ received another call this morning about my IP connection. (Must be the SCAM of the month series)
@ also see news item about foreign scammers activity on BBC: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2gdrvy9gjo
@ Featured picture generated by AI
On the Road 