scotts@uunet.uu.net (04/11/90)
In a related vein (to the problems about AT&T needing SS#), I recently read an article that quoted the head of CitiCorp's credit security. He said that thousands of retailers all over the country had started asking purchasers to supply a home phone number along with credit card purchases. He stated that this had no purpose, because the merchant is always payed by the card company, and that there was no need for the merchant to call the customer. The article went on to say that the reason they ask is simple. It is a great way to advertise. If they decide to run a phone solicitation, they don't have to go combing through the phone book to attract customers. They simply have to make a list of all the numbers off their credit card receipts, and they now have a much higher potential of attracting customers. The CitiCorp guy said that he tells merchants that they don't need the number, and that they should accept his work number or he'll go elsewhere. I asked a few of the local merchants in the Houston area why they needed the phone number. The most prominent answer from the sales clerks was that they had been told to by management and they didn't know why. A couple of sales managers told me it was needed for security (in case I wasn't who I said I was). One store owner admitted that he asked simply because that was what everyone else did. Now I no longer give away my home phone for this purpose. If they ask, I politely give them my work number, without telling them what it is. If they were to actually need to call me about my purchase, they would probably be able to reach me at work. If they want to advertise their product, I will tell them what they can do with it. I used to feel that the phone was a nice anonymous device that I would happily give anyone, as opposed to my address, which I never gave out. It only took one month of prank calls to change my mind. Now I gaurd my phone number like my credit card numbers. I only give it to people who clearly have the need to know. Am I paranoid? Probably, but I prefer "cautious". + Scott Shaffer @ SW Development @ Compaq Computer Corporation @ Houston, TX +
glaser@starch.enet.dec.com (Steve Glaser) (04/13/90)
>In a related vein (to the problems about AT&T needing SS#), I recently >read an article that quoted the head of CitiCorp's credit security. >He said that thousands of retailers all over the country had started >asking purchasers to supply a home phone number along with credit card >purchases. He stated that this had no purpose, because the merchant >is always payed by the card company, and that there was no need for >the merchant to call the customer. Actually, if you listen carefully, much of the time they ask for "a phone number". If they aren't specific about asking for "your phone number", you can can follow their instructions to the letter and give them any random phone number you feel like (though I think some salespersons might notice something strange about getting a 976 or 900 number). They may also ask for "a home phone number" instead of "your home phone number". I heard this from my boss who's been doing it for years. Steve Glaser glaser@starch.enet.dec.com
mvp@hsv3.uucp (Mike Van Pelt) (04/13/90)
In article <6295@accuvax.nwu.edu> cpqhou!scotts@uunet.uu.net writes: X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 10, Issue 249, Message 10 of 13 >... the head of CitiCorp's credit security ... said that thousands of >retailers all over the country had started asking purchasers to supply >a home phone number along with credit card purchases. He stated that >this had no purpose ... > ... the reason they ask is simple. It is a great way to advertise. I came across another reason a few weeks ago. I went out for lunch with several people at work, and one person paid with a credit card. After we got back, he got a phone call telling him that he had left his card at the restaurant. At first he wondered how on earth they had gotten his work number, then he remembered that that's what he had written down when they asked for a phone number. Almost every place that accepts credit cards asks for a phone number. But I can't recall having gotten junk calls from any but a few big chain stores. Certainly not from restaurants. Mike Van Pelt Windows + Icons + Mouse Headland Technology/Video 7 + Pointer == WIMP. ...ames!vsi1!v7fs1!mvp
ceb@csli.stanford.edu (Charles Buckley) (04/15/90)
From: glaser@starch.enet.dec.com (Steve Glaser) >He said that thousands of retailers all over the country had started >asking purchasers to supply a home phone number along with credit card >purchases. He stated that this had no purpose, . . . >Actually, if you listen carefully, much of the time they ask for "a >phone number". As it has been explained to me, this is a writing sample - digits are easier to use in forgery detection than a signature, which is so different that it lends itself to being practiced. One writes so many digits in one's life that it's hard to unlearn, even with practice. What kills me is that the merchants aren't told this by the credit card companies, so some of the more obsequious ones, in trying to make your job of purchasing lighter, ask you for the phone number, and write it on themselves! In my experience from having three credit cards stolen from my PO Box before I could collect them, the fraudulent user unashamedly writes another number, although I couldn't get the postal investigation organization to verify if it belonged to the thief. Guess they protect their own. [Moderator's Note: Addressing only the last paragraph of your message: Not really, they don't. The Chicago Main Post Office has had a few scandals over the years. The postal inspectors come down very hard on postal employees who steal from the mail. A major ripoff of Amoco Credit Cards by postal workers in the early seventies was dealt with very harshly. In those days, the Amoco Credit Card Processing Office was in downtown Chicago. PT]