Identity Thieves Going After The Sucker Born A Minute Ago
from the they-don't-fight-back-as-much dept
As the often mis-attributed statement goes, "there's a sucker born every minute." With more adults getting educated on internet scams and frauds, it seems that some identity thieves have figured out that it's easier to go after the more recently born suckers and have increasingly started to target children. It comes as no surprise to find out that scamming identity thieves have no qualms about going after kids, but it is worth remembering if you do have kids. Many people have learned to carefully monitor their own info, but haven't even thought that their six year-old's name may be on half a dozen credit cards somewhere.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Is it REALLY that easy to get a credit card?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Is it REALLY that easy to get a credit card?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Is it REALLY that easy to get a credit card?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Is it REALLY that easy to get a credit card?
Owner Sends In Pre-Approved Application As Joke
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/money/2800173/detail.html
SAN DIEGO -- A pug in Northern California would have purchased his doggie treats with plastic after being issued a credit card by mail.
The dog, named Clifford, lives with his owner in Livermore, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay Area. Clifford's owner, Steve Borba, said he was tired of getting spam e-mails, so he signed up for an e-mail account using the name Clifford J. Dog. Eventually, a pre-approved credit card application arrived addressed to Clifford J. Dog, and Borba sent it in as a joke.
"It asked for his mother's name. I put 'Pugsy Malone.' When it asked for a Social Security number, I put nine zeroes, and I even put that this was for a dog and not to send a credit card," Borba said.
The credit card company issued Clifford a card despite the obvious warning on the application, Borba said. After the card arrived, Borba alerted the company of the error and the card was deactivated.
Borba said that Clifford never got to use his credit line.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Is it REALLY that easy to get a credit card?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
of course its that easy, the cc companies dont giv
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: of course its that easy, the cc companies dont
If a card is being applied for in the name of a 10 year old it is most likely fraudulent, and the credit card company will never see any payments.
It would seem to me that the CC companies would want to prevent as much of this as possible. Every time there is a fraudulent card issued they will lose money.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: of course its that easy, the cc companies dont
Being 18, and going away for university I thought I'd apply for a VISA card.. as a backup source of money :). It wasn't that simple to get it. I had to have a parent come with me, asking Qs about income and stuff like that. So it's not as simple as it seems.
Speaking for Canada, at least
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Social Security Numbers
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Social Security Numbers
I will say that every once in a while a mistake can happen on the CC company end.
I had a friend who applied for a CC at age 16 when she had a job. For some reason it was given to her and was valid.
Unfortuantely for them, she maxed it out immediately and didn't pay a single payment. And since she was under 18, she wasn't punished because she shouldn't have had access to the card in the first place. The 'contract' wasn't legally binding without being 18 or parental consent or something. Her history was wiped clean and she kept all the stuff she bought with the card.
The CC company was punished. Just as it should have been and should also be with all successful phishings.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Social Security Numbers
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
identity theft
[ link to this | view in chronology ]