Dial iPhone for iD iTheft

Apple's privacy invasion makes MS look like an amateur.

I'm sure I read somewhere that they do a credit check in case you're not eligible for a contract. I mean, ATT have your address, is a SSN any worse?

That's a real question btw, I don't know what your SSN gives them that your personal details don't already.

so what, you have to provide all of that to get a credit card or open a bank account. Heck even getting a job or going to the Dr. requires all that information.

your bank account and credit card has been closely watched by big brother for a very long time.

knightlie said:

I don't know what your SSN gives them that your personal details don't already.

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simply knowing a person's name, phone number and or address does not allow one to track credit history.

think like the phone company for a second. if you have a service, you're sure as heck gonna want to get paid for providing it to the customer, right?

therefore, you want to "investigate" if you will your customers to see how they pay their bills and how responsible said customers are with said money. customers have a bad payment history? then you'd be risky to provide the service to them.


as another poster said, the same info is used for credit cards and home mortgages and other things. when you apply for an auto loan, you give your SSN, no?

This is std operating procedure.

mck_tj05 said:

simply knowing a person's name, phone number and or address does not allow one to track credit history.

think like the phone company for a second. if you have a service, you're sure as heck gonna want to get paid for providing it to the customer, right?

therefore, you want to "investigate" if you will your customers to see how they pay their bills and how responsible said customers are with said money. customers have a bad payment history? then you'd be risky to provide the service to them.


as another poster said, the same info is used for credit cards and home mortgages and other things. when you apply for an auto loan, you give your SSN, no?

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That's what I thought. The SSN is for a credit check.

Edit: From a UK perspective, financial companies require my National Insurance number (our equivalent of the SSN) for investments and so on. No-one has created a clone of me from it.

I think comparing Apple to MS in this case is stretching it.

knightlie said:

That's what I thought. The SSN is for a credit check.
I think comparing Apple to MS in this case is stretching it.

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Especially since this is for AT&T and not Apple at all. Calling it an invasion of privacy on the part of Apple is not only a stretch of the truth, it is flat out incorrect.
Apparently, the author has never attempted to sign up for a cell phone contract in the US before. Either that, or he is a complete and utter moron.