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Cellular forums Home > Archive > Cingular cell phone service > July 2007 > Re: My experience at Cingular today...
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Re: My experience at Cingular today...
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| Bert Hyman 2007-07-05, 10:33 am |
| aqdf@aol.com (d) wrote in
news:468c9075$0$1498
8$4c368faf@roadrunne
r.com:
> At any rate I just wanted to pass this along. I'm sure this is
> probably common place for most carriers but where does invasion of
> privacy end? I'm sure this will fly right over the head of some.
It certainly is common, and not unlike many other situations where
you're receiving what's essentially unsecured credit.
The requirement to provide your mother's maiden name is ostensibly to
protect you, since they use it as a way to verify your identity when
you call to make changes to your account. If it freaks you out, you
could certainly provide anything that sounds like a name, so long as
you can remember it later.
--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN | bert@iphouse.com
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| Bert Hyman wrote:
> aqdf@aol.com (d) wrote in
> news:468c9075$0$1498
8$4c368faf@roadrunne
r.com:
>
>
> It certainly is common, and not unlike many other situations where
> you're receiving what's essentially unsecured credit.
>
> The requirement to provide your mother's maiden name is ostensibly to
> protect you, since they use it as a way to verify your identity when
> you call to make changes to your account. If it freaks you out, you
> could certainly provide anything that sounds like a name, so long as
> you can remember it later.
>
In this case, the SSN and DL# are totally irrelevant and should be
refused without discussion. For the rest, I lie like a rug.
--
jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'
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| Bert Hyman 2007-07-05, 12:33 pm |
| gdunn@airmail.ten (Jer) wrote in
news:138q8nu75ps8h4f
@corp.supernews.com:
> In this case, the SSN and DL# are totally irrelevant and should be
> refused without discussion.
For some reason, the SSN has become the key to your credit history at
the major credit reporting services. Many businesses explicitly state
that while you don't have to give them your SSN, they don't have to
do business with you either.
I have no idea what they can do with a DL number.
> For the rest, I lie like a rug.
If it works for you, why not?
--
Bert Hyman | St. Paul, MN | bert@iphouse.com
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| Dennis Ferguson 2007-07-05, 3:33 pm |
| On 2007-07-05, Jer <gdunn@airmail.ten> wrote:
> Bert Hyman wrote:
>
>
> In this case, the SSN and DL# are totally irrelevant and should be
> refused without discussion. For the rest, I lie like a rug.
Actually the SSN is required for them to do a credit check (and for
them to report to the credit agencies if you stiff them for a bill).
I'd be surprised if they'd grant you unsecured credit without doing a
credit check; without it I'd normally expect them to demand a deposit
for post-paid service, and to decline to enable international long
distance and roaming on the account to limit their exposure to
late-arriving real-currency charges to your account.
They want your driver's license to try to reduce identity fraud, where
you claim to be someone else whose address and SSN you somehow have
knowledge of (or, at least, they want it so they can argue it really
was you if you later claim identity fraud). I have no idea what they
do if you don't produce one.
On the other hand if you can really get unrestricted, post-paid service
from them without providing this and while lying about everything else,
that's a good deal if you can get it. Most people can't.
Dennis Ferguson
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| Dennis Ferguson wrote:
> On 2007-07-05, Jer <gdunn@airmail.ten> wrote:
>
> Actually the SSN is required for them to do a credit check (and for
> them to report to the credit agencies if you stiff them for a bill).
> I'd be surprised if they'd grant you unsecured credit without doing a
> credit check; without it I'd normally expect them to demand a deposit
> for post-paid service, and to decline to enable international long
> distance and roaming on the account to limit their exposure to
> late-arriving real-currency charges to your account.
>
> They want your driver's license to try to reduce identity fraud, where
> you claim to be someone else whose address and SSN you somehow have
> knowledge of (or, at least, they want it so they can argue it really
> was you if you later claim identity fraud). I have no idea what they
> do if you don't produce one.
>
> On the other hand if you can really get unrestricted, post-paid service
> from them without providing this and while lying about everything else,
> that's a good deal if you can get it. Most people can't.
>
> Dennis Ferguson
Having read all the posts here about the SSN being inextricably tied to
credit histories, I think it's time for full disclosure...
Apparently, my perspective is more dated than I supposed - I've never
had a loan nor credit card. I still use cash and never had any problems
with it. I have an SSN tied to banks, taxes, and retirement issues. If
ID is required, one of my passports has been sufficient. When I got my
cell phone, my passport was sufficient, and the account is post paid via
e-billing.
As I said, if anyone wants to know my name, they better have a legal
need to know it if they want to hear the truth.
--
jer
email reply - I am not a 'ten'
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