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Cellular forums Home > Archive > Sprint PCS > November 2006 > SS# needed to simply buy a phone?
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SS# needed to simply buy a phone?
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| ShadowGod 2006-11-03, 12:33 pm |
| I placed an order online for a Sanyo 8400 at the Sprint website. I
paid the full price, I just wanted the phone. Some lady calls and asks
for my Social Security number? I just wanted the phone, no plan
changes, no activation, etc. I can see if they needed my SS# if I
wanted to activate the phone, buy just to buy it? Ridiculous. So I
cancelled the order.
-SG
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| Steven J. Sobol 2006-11-03, 3:33 pm |
| In article < 3rvmk2hok1bs79013pdh
r23jgcgbeuj7l4@4ax.com>, ShadowGod wrote:
> I placed an order online for a Sanyo 8400 at the Sprint website. I
> paid the full price, I just wanted the phone. Some lady calls and asks
> for my Social Security number? I just wanted the phone, no plan
> changes, no activation, etc. I can see if they needed my SS# if I
> wanted to activate the phone, buy just to buy it? Ridiculous. So I
> cancelled the order.
They normally need some kind of ID to make changes to the account (yes,
ordering a replacement phone is a change), but they ask you for the last
four digits, or at least they always did, and I ended up setting up a
password with them so I didn't even have to give out the last four digits.
I had a Sprint PCS account for about five years and was never asked to give
the whole ssn except initially for the credit check.
The lady called? was this a third-party verification service? Many companies
do that, especially companies selling long-distance services, where they get
fined for slamming if they don't verify that you asked to sign up...
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
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| Tinman 2006-11-03, 3:33 pm |
| Steven J. Sobol wrote:
> In article < 3rvmk2hok1bs79013pdh
r23jgcgbeuj7l4@4ax.com>, ShadowGod
> wrote:
>
> They normally need some kind of ID to make changes to the account
> (yes, ordering a replacement phone is a change), but they ask you for
> the last four digits, or at least they always did, and I ended up
> setting up a password with them so I didn't even have to give out the
> last four digits.
>
> I had a Sprint PCS account for about five years and was never asked
> to give the whole ssn except initially for the credit check.
>
> The lady called? was this a third-party verification service? Many
> companies do that, especially companies selling long-distance
> services, where they get fined for slamming if they don't verify that
> you asked to sign up...
My guess: Patriot Act.
You can buy an inactivated phone online without having a Sprint account
at all. They wouldn't know the last four of your social because they
never got in the first place (the online order-taking process only asks
for a CC, and that the ship-to address is the same as the bill-to
address for the CC).
Oh, and of course the address must be a street address (think that's
another Patriot Act thing).
Welcome to the Homeland!
--
Mike
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| AZ Nomad 2006-11-03, 10:33 pm |
| On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 13:00:26 -0700, Tinman <ask@for.it> wrote:
>Steven J. Sobol wrote:
[color=darkred]
>My guess: Patriot Act.
>You can buy an inactivated phone online without having a Sprint account
>at all. They wouldn't know the last four of your social because they
>never got in the first place (the online order-taking process only asks
>for a CC, and that the ship-to address is the same as the bill-to
>address for the CC).
>Oh, and of course the address must be a street address (think that's
>another Patriot Act thing).
Nah. You needed a actual address long before the patrot act. Quit being
so damn paranoid. Have you never heard of the concept of TAXES? The tax rate
is determined by your home address.
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| John Richards 2006-11-03, 10:33 pm |
| "AZ Nomad" <aznomad.2@PremoveOBthisOX.COM> wrote in message news:slrnekng3s.pq4.aznomad.2@ip70-176-155-130.ph.ph.cox.net...
> On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 13:00:26 -0700, Tinman <ask@for.it> wrote:
>
> Nah. You needed a actual address long before the patrot act. Quit being
> so damn paranoid. Have you never heard of the concept of TAXES? The tax rate
> is determined by your home address.
I agree that the street address was needed long before the Patriot Act.
Taxes can be determined from the zip code, so the actual street address
is not needed for that. Only USPS can deliver to P.O. boxes, so the other
delivery services need a physical street address.
--
John Richards
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| Todd Allcock 2006-11-03, 10:33 pm |
| At 04 Nov 2006 02:20:20 +0000 John Richards wrote:
> "AZ Nomad" <aznomad.2@PremoveOBthisOX.COM> wrote in message
news:slrnekng3s.pq4.aznomad.2@ip70-176-155-130.ph.ph.cox.net...
[color=darkred]
> I agree that the street address was needed long before the Patriot Act.
> Taxes can be determined from the zip code, so the actual street address
> is not needed for that.
Not necessarily, particularlyin less populated areas. I live on
unincorporated land (in the county, but outside city limits) yet have the
same zip code as those that live inside the city limits. I am
responsible for state and county sales taxes, but not the 2+% city taxes
other folks in my zipcode pay.
Only an entire street address can accurately determine my sales tax
liability.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
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| John Richards 2006-11-04, 4:33 am |
| "Todd Allcock" < elecconnec@AmericaOn
Line.com> wrote in message news:454bf41c$0$1206
1$88260bb3@free.teranews.com...
> At 04 Nov 2006 02:20:20 +0000 John Richards wrote:
> news:slrnekng3s.pq4.aznomad.2@ip70-176-155-130.ph.ph.cox.net...
>
>
> Not necessarily, particularlyin less populated areas. I live on
> unincorporated land (in the county, but outside city limits) yet have the
> same zip code as those that live inside the city limits. I am
> responsible for state and county sales taxes, but not the 2+% city taxes
> other folks in my zipcode pay.
>
> Only an entire street address can accurately determine my sales tax
> liability.
Or the zip+4 code, but I'll grant you that a lot of people don't know
what their full 9-digit zip code is.
--
John Richards
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| Tinman 2006-11-06, 7:33 am |
| AZ Nomad wrote:
> On Fri, 3 Nov 2006 13:00:26 -0700, Tinman <ask@for.it> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Nah. You needed a actual address long before the patrot act. Quit
> being
> so damn paranoid.
The "paranoid" card. I see.
Guess I imagined that my billing address on my account in 2000/2001 was
my PO box.
Guess I Imagined that they demanded I change my billing address to my
street address (which I prefer to not use as it contains a directional
that, if left off or missed by the postal carrier, means my mail goes to
another house). Must have been the paranoia...
> Have you never heard of the concept of TAXES? The
> tax rate is determined by your home address.
That has little to do with matching a billing address of a CC to the
shipping address of a phone that isn't even activated. Wouldn't wanna
pay the wrong taxes on that no-plan phone that might just be a gift
being sent to another state. Oh the horror...
Regardless, this doesn't address the OP's question about SSN.
--
Mike
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| Der.Merovingian 2006-11-11, 10:33 pm |
| On 2006-11-03 13:35:25 -0500, "Steven J. Sobol" <sjsobol@JustThe.net> said:
> In article < 3rvmk2hok1bs79013pdh
r23jgcgbeuj7l4@4ax.com>, ShadowGod wrote:
>
> They normally need some kind of ID to make changes to the account (yes,
> ordering a replacement phone is a change), but they ask you for the last
> four digits, or at least they always did, and I ended up setting up a
> password with them so I didn't even have to give out the last four
> digits.
>
> I had a Sprint PCS account for about five years and was never asked to give
> the whole ssn except initially for the credit check.
> The lady called? was this a third-party verification service? Many companies
> do that, especially companies selling long-distance services, where they get
> fined for slamming if they don't verify that you asked to sign up...
Doesn't make sense. He is paying full price, so there is absolutely no
reason to ask for someone's SS# in this case. It's not as if he was
somehow charging the phone to his Sprint account or anything of that
sort, he is simply making a purchase of a cell phone at full price. And
he wasn't making any changes to his account. Ordering a new phone (and
at full price nonetheless) is NOT making changes to one's account.
It's like walking into s Sprint store and saying i want to buy xxx
phone at $350 (full price + tax) and the salesperson asking for your
social. Why do you need it?
B.S
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| Steven J. Sobol 2006-11-12, 4:33 am |
| In article <2006111121294275249-DerMero@NoSpamcom>, Der.Merovingian wrote:
> It's like walking into s Sprint store and saying i want to buy xxx
> phone at $350 (full price + tax) and the salesperson asking for your
> social. Why do you need it?
In your scenario, they DON'T need it.
--
Steve Sobol, Professional Geek ** Java/VB/VC/PHP/Perl ** Linux/*BSD/Windows
Victorville, California PGP:0xE3AE35ED
It's all fun and games until someone starts a bonfire in the living room.
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