Do you give your phone # to stores???

[Junkman]

I had a check insurance company back in the early 1970's for my store that used the same system. You would put your thumb print on a colorless ink pad and then put your thumb on the check. It would then be sprayed with a product that would make the thumb print legible. Even though the customer would get their thumb print back with their check, there was so much resistance to the program, that we gave it up in less than a month. It wasn't worth the lost business to push the issue. Most people look at checks as being the same as cash. A check is nothing more than a promise to pay when you accept it. In MA, where my stores were located, it is just about impossible to collect on a bad check. We now use Telecheck for for all check acceptance and it is electronically transfered from the customers account to the Telecheck corporate account and then they do a bulk deposit to our checking account the next day. The entire process takes approximately 48 hours from the time of acceptance of the instrument. The only down side is the cost of the equipment. It costs about $800 and they change equipment design every 3 - 4 years. I see it as a cost of doing business. The same as accepting Master Card/Visa/Discover... American Express.... well, that is another discussion for another day. We no longer accept that card except from a few select old customers.... and that is a violation of their terms of service, but I don't care. /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

 

[YanmarFever]

Big Dave
If you are not to concerned about your social security #
Why dont you post your # here --- -- ----& see how long your credit will last.
Yours truly, PT. Barnum /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[BigDave]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( I'm proud of your fico score, but credit worthiness was not the point of the post. )</font>

My point was after 20 years of not giving people a hard time over requesting my SSN, I haven't suffered any ill-effects. I bet my blood pressure is a few points lower, since I don't let the use of my SSN aggravate me.

 

[gws]

I DONT give my SSN to anyone except those who have a financial need to know. I even had it removed from my drivers license. I hate that my SSN is part of my medical records, I wish there was somthing else, but when it comes to giving our SSN to buy something no way.

 

[BigDave]

553780081

Loan me $25,000 at less than prime rate & I'll give my name, address, phone number, employer, salary, closest living relative's info & my SSN. Give me a couple million in life insurance for a below market rate and you can know everything about me, including every ailment that I ever had. Hell, I would even give you a DNA sample if it made you happy. Give me a security or banking job & I'll let you put me on a polygraph. On smaller scale, if you want to sell me a Mitre saw, and want to use my phone number as an account number that's okay, since I'm not likely to forget it.

There's a difference between doing business and non-business related disclosures. If my next door neighbor asked for my SSN or my mother's maiden name I wouldn't share it with him.

Speaking of suckers, does anyone recognize that number?

 

[Junkman]

Dave....... don't take the membership to task on locating you. I don't know how it was done, but someone figured out my full name and address and even was able to locate my birthday. They then posted it on the site for all to see. When I saw this, I immediately asked the moderator(s) to delete it. I don't try to hide, but the last thing that I wanted on a public site that is constantly "crawled" by Google is my personal information. I was extremely ticked that a member would even think of posting this information on TBN. I know that if you do a Google search for Bob Shurka, you will find many places that he has posted to other web forums.

 

[YanmarFever]

Sorry Dave
life is to short to mess with it.
Besides Im not a crook a bankster or an insurance peddler.
Im just a happy tractor OWNER in the sticks

 

[BigDave]

Junkman,

Challenge, I don't see no stinkin' challenge. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Thanks, advice taken. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I used to think my SSN was something I owned, but the Navy beat that out of me. It was used for everything. If I wanted to check the table-tennis paddles out for a game in the rec club, they need my SSN. In the chow line, when you showed your ID, they would tell you where you were born, based upon your SSN number. Anyone who needed to see my ID, say for a military discount at a local store, got to see my SSN. After a few years, it was no longer a secret decoder number between me & the IRS.

Back to the original thread subject. My parents always had an unlisted number, and were upset whenever they had a sales call. They somehow felt violated. I learned from that, & just don't talk to stranger on the phone. It saves a lot of aggravation. I don't argue with the telemarketers. I don't argue with the kid a Best Buy who wants my number. I give them my number and then ignore them when they use it. Caller ID is the single best improvement to my quality of my in many years, not sure how I got by without it.

 

[MicroPilot]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Yep, Bigun, a few years ago my Matco Tool distributor brother had a commercial account at a big bank and he wrote me a check for some air tools I'd repaired for him, I went to the drive-in window to cash it, and they told me I'd have to come inside to cash it, so I did, and they wanted just one thumb print. )</font>

I never could quite figure out what the thumbprint was supposed to prove. If you've never been in trouble with the law before, or in the military or law enforcement, it isn't going to be worth anything to the bank. I guess if the check you were cashing was bogus, they could tell the FBI, "Yep, we got his thumb print!" and be happy about that! Do you really think the banks have the ability to check thumb prints somehow?

As far as SSN, Nobody gets mine except banks, IRS, and Insurance, oh, and maybe the state. If someone other than these organizations ask, I'll explain that I don't feel comfortable providing this info, and ask if there is some other means they can use to identify me. Some places do have this ability, but you have to ask first.

Something else about SSN's is that it's only the last 4 digits that are important. Given this and your address and an idea of how old you are, it's very possible to "guess" at the remaing digits. The place where I work wanted people to use the last 4 digits of the SSN as v-mail passwords. I was OK with this until I found out that our v-mail vendor was going to have access to this info. I insisted that I be allowed to use some other number for the v-mail p-word.

Since I only have dial-up internet, I have a 2nd phone line that will NEVER be answered, and that is the number I'll give out. Another trick I use is my phone number with a different area code.

When signing for stuff bought with a credit card at the electrnic register doohickey's I'll usually sign some politicians name, or as Bird said, just a wavy line or two. Never had anyone even give a second glance. I have had cashiers keep my card and compare signatures on paper receipts, which I don't mind, because if my card was stolen, they may have just recovered my card, and kept their business from taking a loss. This doesn't happen often though.

WOW, what a long post. I guess I shouldn't post while under the influnce of Jim Beam!!! /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

<font color="blue"> "I have had cashiers keep my card and compare signatures on paper receipts" </font>

Two things here.

A friend of mine boldly print SEE PHOTO ID on the signature line of all of his credit cards. If you're concerned about someone using (physically, not online, etc.) your stolen card, you might want to do that, too.

As to checking signatures, I had an unusual experience years ago entering a secure area on a military base. I had been given the appropriate pass which I presented to the armed guard. He examined it then presented me with a clipboard and told me to sign, which I did.

When I handed it back to the guard, he turned over my pass to compare the signatures. Unfortunately, I never knew there was a place for my signature so I'd never signed it. The guard told me I hadn't signed my pass and handed it back to me. I had visions of having to go through the whole process of getting the pass again. Instead of just giving up, I reached into my pocket, grabbed my pen, signed it and handed it back to him.

He took it, dutifully compared the two signatures he'd witnessed inside of a minute and, duly satisfied they matched, allowed me to enter. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif