Dear...part of what you're struggling with is just the season of life. When my kids were toddlers and privacy not near the concern that it is now...things can just be plain ole hard and lonesome. Especially since you're working with your hubby. That alone keeps you, well, alone.

Now as far as privacy. I've had to pick and chose how far I'm going to go with this. I have had to catch myself getting downright paranoid over privacy things and THAT'S not where I want to live. So I guess where that leaves me is this: I pick my friends carefully (and it sounds like you do to.) I have the added twist that I'm a published writer so I AM on the net. One must evaluate what works for them.

When my kids are grown and we are more free financially, we know what we will do to step up our privacy. But for right now, I choose not to get too panicky, exercise discretion and enjoy my kids as much as possible because the years really do fly by quickly. Hope this helps....You truly have the most important job on the planet!

Do banks do this too, for ordinary checking account holders? I want to know if I could get away with giving my bank either a CMRA address or the street address of my post office with the PO box number as the apartment number.

... I have not had any problem when opening accounts in small banks, as outlined in "Invisible Money." The Alaska ghost address works just fine.

Does anyone else struggle with this or have found some ways to cope without handing out your cell # to everyone, e-mailing everything, texting or Facebook, etc.? Do you compromise with your friends - suggestions? Thank you.

Yes, I'm well aware that I can walk into any retail store, dressed in cross-gender clothing, wearing a hat and sunglasses, and buy a prepaid phone, then give bogus info upon activation, and only use the phone for calls to parties that can't be cross-referenced back to my true identity. But in the particular case I referenced, I was only trying to get the free $25 airtime card. As annoyed as I was with the customer service people, I remained very aware that ordering through the internet was not my only option.

Again, in my particular case, after many conversations with customer service people, it was clear that the problem was not in my means of payment or the PO box billing address on file with my bank. The problem was in the delivery address. T-Mobile only allows delivery to a residential home or a place of business where the recipient/customer is the one personally signing for the box. Again, that's a fraud prevention tactic on their part to avoid customers claiming they never received the product. They do not accept the UPS Store's signature as a substitute for the customer's signature. They appear to have a database of all the UPS Store addresses - they KNEW that I was attempting to arrange delivery to a UPS store, and they refused to deliver to that location.

Ultimately, no harm done except for the triple-hold on my debit card while their "fraud department" sorted out the details...

JJL is still "spot-on" with his advice that one needs a nominee and a residential-appearing ghost address. T-Mobile Prepaid Online Purchasing Department continues to prove that.

You wrote, "Today I found out my home address has been compromised and the only source I can think of would be the school district (from registering our children) or my landlord (filling out a credit app) ..."

I see both as possible leaks. In the future never give a school your true home address and have a nominee handle the rental if you can't bypass the credit check somehow.

Can you just walk into a T-Mobile store and buy the phones and cards in cash? Would T-Mobile be more cooperative if you offered to mail a cashier's check or money order as payment? For us, it's a privacy/safety issues, but I think for the vendors it's sometimes just about not getting ripped off. And unfortunately, I do think that some of the things we do to protect ourselves (like K7.net numbers and mail drops) makes us look suspicious to vendors who fear becoming fraud victims. Good luck!

I was using a debit (not credit) card that was tied to a checking account I opened in an out-of-state bank where the out-of-state bank was given my (local to the out-of-state bank's) cousin's address initially, then my PO box as a "mailing address". Apparently T-mobile has the capacity to ascertain that the UPS Store's address is NOT a residential house or apartment.

I was quite frustrated with the whole thing, but I never found a workable solution to get the T-Mobile order delivered to an address that wasn't connected with a residential address. They outright REFUSED to deliver my order to the UPS Store. After several tense conversations with their customer service reps, I determined that the problem was NOT that my bank account was tied to a PO box. The problem was that they KNEW that they KNEW that they KNEW that my shipping address was a UPS Store.

It appears to me that a nominee combined with a ghost address that appears to be an actual house on google maps is the only way to go these days.... Sad but true.... And who knows how long even that will continue to be effective in preventing databases from discovering where we sleep at night????

... As always, the one best solution is to use a nominee.

Recently, I ordered something from a small company new to me, and they declined to process my order unless I gave them my landline phone number so that they could verify my identity through something they called RSA Identity Check. I never give my landline to vendors since it is tied to my physical address, and I'm afraid they will give it to UPS or FedEx, who would likely share/sell the info.

Does anyone know what this RSA Identity Check is? Are others having increasing trouble ordering things over the internet with privacy or was this a fluke? I am also wondering if giving a K7.net phone number for messages was what caused the problem. Has anyone else had trouble with those K7 numbers looking suspicious to vendors? I'm just wondering if there is some other way to order over the internet without giving away my privacy. The prepaid cards are so convenient and just like cash. Thanks.

(2)Do you recommend using a LLC for this?

... 1) Follow the instructions in "Invisible Money."

... 2) No.