Tried logging into Experian and NONE of my information is working. Wonderful!
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The fact that your SSN is so important and still so insecure is pathetic. Thanks US government.
Yeah I don’t get why that is? My SSN is NE079792B, what on earth can anyone do with that info? Pay into my pension?
It’s fairly important to keep it private for US citizens, see here.
Wow it was such a simple thing when online banking started getting popular, the EU stepped in and simply made a law that said “Fraud is the bank’s problem, not the consumer”
Yet another way for the ol’ US to fuck their citizens’ lives up, huh
Yet another way for the ol’ US to fuck their citizens’ lives up, huh
That’s the smell of freedom right there! Yeah!
deleted by creator
Land of the Fee
Wait, that’s not a correctly formatted SSN!
Ooh look at Mister Regex over here
“We identify you by a unique ID”
Wow, a unique ID! Is it secret?
“It’s totally top secret. It’s nine digits”
Nine digits
“Nine digits. With dashes in the middle.”
And so that’s how the social security office …
“Well not just social security. You see, to date it’s the only government institution that’s managed to deploy a database table so …”
So what?
“So we use it for everything”
How is is top secret?
“Well, it’s your job to keep it secret”
That shouldn’t be too hard I guess. But what happens if it’s compromised?
“We call this Identity Theft. It’s bad. Don’t let anyone else get your nine digit number”
Uh … my cell phone provider wants my unique ID. Is this a scam?
“No. Legit people are allowed to ask for your ID”
Legit people
“Any institutions we consider too legit to quit, ie too big to fail, are allowed to ask for it”
Okay
“And anyone else who’s legitimate can ask for it”
Legitimate
“Yes legitimate parties can ask for your top secret ID”
Originally wasn’t even supposed to be used for that too.
Don’t worry, you’ll probably get like a $5 bill credit as an apology/settlement to never be able to sue.
Yeah but they probably missed the deadline, so they get nothing.
Didn’t you get that memo?
Don’t forget about the one year of free credit monitoring
To activate your free credit monitoring, enter your social security number plus your credit lock password if you have one …
The irony of being alerted by Experian:
https://www.doj.nh.gov/news/2022/20221107-multistate-settlements.htm
Happened again 2 years later:
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/refunds/equifax-data-breach-settlement
Something something pot kettle.
Buzzzzz
It’s really lame that companies like AT&T even need your SSN. Why do they need that to set up a phone line or an internet connection? There’s gotta be a better way.
To identity you
Edit: I’m not defending the system. I’m just stating the fact
You can identify by other means. Or at least give the opportunity to use other means. If you can’t keep my personal information safe, you shouldn’t be allowed to collect it.
Agreed
okay but then they wouldn’t have as much data to sell and re-sell and corellate, and couldn’t ask as high a price.
do you just hate business?
If only there were some sort of moniker you went by other than a SSN. That coupled with some sort of location data could narrow you down to, ooh, one person I suppose.
In the UK we have NI number, which is used by my employer, pension provider, the tax services, the benefits office, and that’s pretty much it. It’s not used as a general source of ID by corporations.
From an outside point of view, the US system looks crazy. And that’s coming from somebody who’s country has a TV license.
Then why do our ISPs in Germany at best just need our contract confirmation and maybe a SEPA entry?
Even my bank I opened an account with just wanted to get my tax-id and my ID-number (wich changes with every re-issue).
Something of a joke that, since the SSN is an identifier, the identity tool quickly becomes an identity theft tool once it’s been pilfered.
With humans increasingly pushed out of the customer service loop, these security scams get easier every day.
Why does AT&T need your SIN?!?
So they can permanently mark you as a poor when you miss a single monthly payment thus effecting your ability to do anything with money in the future making you poorer and perpetuating a cycle in order to trap you into a system that benefits from your suffering.
Or even better, my experience with them - they can permanently mark you as poor when the person who stole your identity in the last data beach (Thanks Experian!) doesn’t make their monthly payment, thus tanking your credit while you’re entering escrow on your first home.
Thanks AT&T, now my stolen information I never even gave you is probably back on the black market! The cycle continues.
We’ve surrounded the prisoner in piezoelectrics. The more he struggles, the more electricity he produces!
Because people finance their phones with AT&T, usually without realizing it. “Free” phones and discounted phones are not usually free or discounted. You’re forced to stay with them to get the discount off each month. I hate it because I’d rather just pay for my phone outright and be done, but then you actually pay more.
Not sure I see how you end up paying more by buying your phone outright, it’s more up front but then your monthly price for service is lower.
They give you a discount per month. So for example, a $1000 phone is on sale for $600, but they don’t give you $400 off up front. Its a $11.11 per month discount for the next 36 months. You pay $16.67 per month until its paid off. If you pay it up front you pay $1000. If you leave early or pay it off early you lose the $11/month discount on the payment for the phone
Its intended to lure people in for an advertised cheap or free phone, but then you’re stuck with them paying for the device.
Depending on the calculation the phone + plan can be cheaper than just the phone and just the plan
Not surprising. I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point every person in the US will have been affected by data breaches.
Jokes on you, I’m off the grid.
-Posted from St Louis Library Roomba 2.1
Once more into the breach, eh?
Why would AT&T need to be storing social security numbers? For debts people owe them or something?
Real answer: when people finance their phones, the provider needs to check their credit to confirm if they’re actually eligible.
The real question is, why do they retain that information?
Probably so they can re-check you in the future when you inevitably renew your contract.
Not that I agree with that. It should only be stored as long as it takes to run the check.
Jesus christ we can’t outsource this to stripe or something like we do with credit card info?
Yeah same fucking boat - absolutely bullshit.
Also same. I haven’t had anything to do with them since 2013 but they still somehow sent me an email. Not sure it is worth following up in, tho.
Yeah there’s been a breach at at&t a long time ago. Here a good video explaining https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrVwKfrj57U
“American Thieves & Thugs”
— Archie Bunker
I swear one day these websites like haveibeenpwned.com and the like will start collecting the data you enter
Incoming $5 check from class action lawsuit
