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
“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”
I swear one day these websites like haveibeenpwned.com and the like will start collecting the data you enter
Don’t worry, you’ll probably get like a $5 bill credit as an apology/settlement to never be able to sue.
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
The irony of a billion dollar company losing my personal info and helpfully offering me credit monitoring service from the other billion dollar company that lost my info. It’s so good.
Throw into the mix: I had to do business with AT&T because they were the only ISP available to my Appartment complex. I never had the choice to not do business with these companies.
Equifax handles my company’s payroll.
Please, I want to get off Mr bones wild ride.
Not surprising. I wouldn’t be surprised if at some point every person in the US will have been affected by data breaches.
That is very likely already the case, let’s be serious here. Our companies, especially the ones with really firm mono- or duopolies, give absolutely no fucks about protecting citizen data, they just have insurance to cover the damages.
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.
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.
