OESF Portables Forum
General Forums => Off Topic forum => Topic started by: gdog on May 26, 2005, 11:49:41 pm
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I've got 100% positive feedback on eBay as a buyer (haven't sold anythng yet). Feedback score is 59 on 81 purchases. But Paypal won't confirm my shipping address because I don't trust them ( or anyone else for that matter), enough to send them a digital picture of my driver's license.
And I don't trust anyone (ie the Internet), to put my credit card number or other personal info out there in order to complete automated transactions. Haven't been burned yet but did have to change my CC number when geeks.net got hacked a couple of years back.
So here's my sob story. I'd like to order an extra EA-B11 battery, and EA-72 AC Adapter, an external charger and a Pentopia stylus. But given that Sharp doesn't sell the C3K and C1K's over here in the States, there isn't a plethora of places where I can order those items, and of the ones that do ell them they all want enough info to build a financial clone of me, or they want to only ship to a confirmed Paypal address. The former I won't allow, the second I can't provide because paypal refuses to consider the fact that there are other ways of confirming additional addresses, but won't because would have to change their way of doing things and actually start communicating with the company that owns them, eBay.
So what's a geek to do? I'm not going to compromise my principles for a battery, but then again I can't afford to travel to Tokyo to pay cash for one either. Dynamism is about the only way that offers a live transaction with just my credit card, but they are very expensive. Trisoft wants too much personal info, Streamline does too though they will take Paypal but only with a confirmed address. I was told they would take money orders or cashiers checks but so far I've not heard back. And the one place on eBay will accept my order with a promise to ship my items within a month. Very nice of them!
Does anyone know of a source for accessories that is neither too expensive, nor involves playing Russion Roullette with one's personal info?
Well there you have it. My own little sob story. If I'm approached by Hollywood to do human interest story you can bet that one of my demands will be a supply of accessories that I don't have to sign for ;o) Short of that I guess I'm up the proverbial digital stream without a virtual paddle.
Regards, from poor little me,
gdog
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...Trisoft wants too much personal info...
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=81716\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
gdog,
HELP ! Could you please give us a hint what you mean ?
Without an address, we can't ship.
Without an email addy we can't communicate.
Without a phone number we can't send international
packages.
And we don't ask for more
Also we and Streamline will be happy to help everyone
in special cases via email (there're _real_ people behind
the webpages and shop ).
OK, mailing a question means to reveal your email addy,
but this shouldn't be a real problem.
We can't improve services if you don't tell us what to do
better.
///TRIsoft
Marc Stephan
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When I first started my PayPal account and I wanted to verify my address they mailed me a letter with a URL and code to enter to verify. This was a few years back so they may have changed the process since Ebay took over. I've had to move since then and it was a breeze as long as the credit card on file had the same mailing address.
I understand that identity theft is a big issue these days, but you have to trust someone if you want to get anything done. I chose PayPal because I only use one credit card on the net and can check the website to see if any fraudulant charges were made. Most credit card companies even call if big purchases were made just to verify it was you who made them. I've been buying and selling on Ebay for a few years now and I don't like shipping to unverified addresses because PayPal doesn't protect me if someone claims I shafted them.
How come you only hear about when websites get compromised? Because it doesn't happen often enough so it's considered news. Facts are, you're safer dealing with online purchases than offline purchases. People go to restaurants and pay with credit cards everyday. Just hand it to the waiter/waitress and they don't think anything of it as the server walks out of site to pay the bill (and write down the credit card info since they only make $2.00/hr plus tips). After their meal they go to almost any retailer and buy whatever. Receipt prints out, you sign the merchant copy and you get the customer copy which has your credit info XXXX out. To bad the cashier making minimum wage has the receipt that has your credit card information without the XXXX on it.
This type of hypocracy upsets me considering the websites are doing more to prevent fraud because they know people are going to target them saying they're not safe. What people need to do is look at the people handling their offline transactions.
What's a geek to do? Take off the tinfoil hat and get educated about the real problems of the system.
Here's a little light reading:
http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/co..._offline_world/ (http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/internet_is_safer_from_fraud_than_the_offline_world/)
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005...ft_offline.html (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/id_theft_offline.html)
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...Trisoft wants too much personal info...
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=81716\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
gdog,
HELP ! Could you please give us a hint what you mean ?
Without an address, we can't ship.
Without an email addy we can't communicate.
Without a phone number we can't send international
packages.
And we don't ask for more
Also we and Streamline will be happy to help everyone
in special cases via email (there're _real_ people behind
the webpages and shop ).
OK, mailing a question means to reveal your email addy,
but this shouldn't be a real problem.
We can't improve services if you don't tell us what to do
better.
///TRIsoft
Marc Stephan
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=81748\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Please do not take this personally, or think that I am targeting any company in particular. I assure you that is not my intention.
I will not put my credit card (CC), number out on the internet. I don't like putting my name, sex, birthday, address or anything else that can be collected and used to "build" a comprehensive profile of who I am. And while I fully understand that when I tell the person on the other end of the phone my CC number that it is going into the same computer it does were I to just enter it myself using an automated system, I also have the opportunity to get a name and an order number that might help to track any bad things that might occur as a result of my order being taken and information provided. And in fact that very thing happened to me when some folks who were later tracked to Russia, managed to hack into a business's database that entered the info by hand. The hackers stole mine and many others CC numbers. So I had to cancel my CC, thankfully before they had a chance to use it. And so, I try to be very selective, and believe that the bad guys would find it harder to be bad if more of us were also more careful and less cavalier about that we put out there for anyone to read.
Bottom line is that if a company wants my business then they'll offer me the opportunity to speak to a live person in order to place and trace my order. If not, that's their right and choice, but I'll make the choice and exercise my right to just play in someone else's sandbox.
Best Regards,
gdog
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gdog,
Things may have changed in the last year or so, but the last time I looked into this, it was face to face transactions that were by far the largest share of credit card fraud out there - cards being double swiped, or photographed with a digital camera, plus photocopies of the receipts and so on. These kind of things typically happen at petrol stations or restaurants.
I think its better to be a bit more pragmatic about the risks. Read the terms and conditions from your credit card company. In the UK for example, and this also applies with some UK lenders when you are purchasing items abroad*, there is a rule called "equal liability" which allows you to claim from the bank/lender if:
- the goods or services you bought are unsatisfactory
- the trader has broken the contract (e.g., by not sending you the goods) or
- if the trader has misrepresented or misdescribed the goods or services to you.
"Equal liability" here means that the credit card company is eqully liable for the good outcome from any transaction as is the shop/restaurant etc.
Also, in the event your credit card is stolen in the UK, your maximum liability is £50, so long as you inform your credit card of the loss immediately. (In the US, I believe, the liability is $50)
In my case, I can check my accounts online, and I check my credit card statement daily.
So I think the risks of using credit cards on the Internet are severely overblown. Yes, it is damned inconvenient when some incompetent company has their servers hacked and they lose personal data. Companies that store that kind of data on a public facing server should be shut down.
But it seems clear that the greater risks are in normal day to day use of a credit card, not in the occasional online purchase you might make.
Mike.
* This issue is being argued in court at present.
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When I first started my PayPal account and I wanted to verify my address they mailed me a letter with a URL and code to enter to verify. This was a few years back so they may have changed the process since Ebay took over. I've had to move since then and it was a breeze as long as the credit card on file had the same mailing address.
I understand that identity theft is a big issue these days, but you have to trust someone if you want to get anything done. I chose PayPal because I only use one credit card on the net and can check the website to see if any fraudulant charges were made. Most credit card companies even call if big purchases were made just to verify it was you who made them. I've been buying and selling on Ebay for a few years now and I don't like shipping to unverified addresses because PayPal doesn't protect me if someone claims I shafted them.
emjaybee,
Things have not changed from that. However while paypal has verified my account by talking to my bank and depositing two small amounts of money into my acount, which I then reported back to them, allowing them to know that I at least have access to the account to which they then verified, the confirmation process of an address is done much differently. The rules as they currently exist are that:
1. I have to be a member in good standing with at least 10 transactions, and my membership has to be at least 90 days old.
2. Upon logging into my account and verifying that those points are true they send me a secret code to my alternate address.
3. I log into my account and enter that secret code.
4. Then they require me to send them a picture ID with my address on it, along with two recent utilty bills that were sent to that same address.
If I do that they are happy and will confirm that alternate address. One thing of note. I have all of my medical and financial correspondence sent to a PO box. It does no good to confirm a po box because some carriers, such as UPS, refuse to ship to PO Boxes.
I also suggested that they could just ask my bank for the second address because it has both. And since eBay owns Paypal, the same information could be obtained from them as well. You just don't conduct nearly 100 transactions involving thousands of dollars of merchandise, with nobody complaining if something is amiss. You don't achieve 100% feedback worth 1000s of dollars, either buying or selling if your having thing shipped to the wrong address. EBay can tell Paypal that, just as my Bank can tell Paypal that my second address is legit, it Paypal cared to just ask, don't you think?
You mentioned identity theft. If I fax Paypal a picture of my driver's license, and they get hacked (and they will, if it hasn't happened already despite their claims to the contrary), then the bad guys would have everything they need at that point to make my life a living hell.
How come you only hear about when websites get compromised? Because it doesn't happen often enough so it's considered news. Facts are, you're safer dealing with online purchases than offline purchases. People go to restaurants and pay with credit cards everyday. Just hand it to the waiter/waitress and they don't think anything of it as the server walks out of site to pay the bill (and write down the credit card info since they only make $2.00/hr plus tips). After their meal they go to almost any retailer and buy whatever. Receipt prints out, you sign the merchant copy and you get the customer copy which has your credit info XXXX out. To bad the cashier making minimum wage has the receipt that has your credit card information without the XXXX on it.
I don't pay for meals or other things which require me to be separated from my CC. And I don't use my CC for much anyway, and never use a debit card either. I pay with cash whenever possible.
This type of hypocracy upsets me considering the websites are doing more to prevent fraud because they know people are going to target them saying they're not safe. What people need to do is look at the people handling their offline transactions.
What's a geek to do? Take off the tinfoil hat and get educated about the real problems of the system.
Seems like it's hard to state your opinion on the web without someone seeing it as either a personal attack, or an opportunity to mount one.
I'm not a hyprocrite. And while I admit to being a geek, I do not and never have worn a tinfoil hat. (Though I might if I thought it would make me wifi work better ;o))
And you don't hear about financial crimes, or crimes against financial institutions very often because those victimized go to great lengths to keep such things quiet. It's very bad for business, don't you know.
Here's a little light reading:
http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/co..._offline_world/ (http://www.hotelmarketing.com/index.php/content/article/internet_is_safer_from_fraud_than_the_offline_world/)
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005...ft_offline.html (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/id_theft_offline.html)
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=81784\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
I'll take a look at your articles, but you might want to take the blinders off long enough to take note of the fact that identify theft takes on many forms, and is used in many ways. The perpretrators after all are in it for the biggest bang for your buck. They don't care if that is on-line or off-line, so long as it's your name on the signature line. In the meantime I'll continue being as careful as I can and hope for the best. And if there is any truth to safety in numbers, maybe the sharks will eat the other little fishes before me, cause I'm not going to be one of those on the leading edge of the school (technology), where the sharks will be looking for the easiy pickings, lazy SOBs that they (the bad guys) are.
Best Regards,
gdog
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gdog:
JMHO, but I think you are being paranoid. Life is full of small risks.
I think internet transactions are very safe.
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I have friend who after tearing off the receipts from the teller machines (of a bank) dumps one half into a bin on 46th street (say) and the opther half 3-4 block away and never in the same bin (he does the same for all such financial papers which he tears off into 4 halves sometimes).
Of course his logic is that that with a little bit of patience, someone can re-construct the entile paper by putting them together if its in the same bin and get the sensitive data back together in one piece. I don't think he would be satisfied with a paper sheredder either.
In the olden days (and back home in India when Creditcards were not that popular), people had the same paranoia about holding on to their wallets, because while travelling on a crammed bus or tram, someone could nick your wallet (happend to me too), and then we thought with CC's that problem was solved - no more cash to steal.
Well, goes to show risks are there always (maybe even in the days of bartering before cash as a tool was created). We just got to balance it out with the convenience that such tools provide.
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Please don't take my post personally, as there are many people that feel the way you do. As tombraider said, life is full of small risks. The thing is, most credit card companies don't hold you liable for fraudulant charges so it's not even a risk. While it is a small hassle to get a new card (it's happened to me once) or call your credit card company because you're on their website and someone made a charge you didn't authorize, the conveinence of shopping online clearly outweighs the small hassle.
As far as the PayPal confirmation, you describe Alternative Address Confirmation. There are two other ways to confirm your address with PayPal, according to their Help section:
1 When you add a credit card to your PayPal account, the address on file with your credit card company becomes confirmed.
2 Once you apply for PayPal Buyer Credit and are approved, the address used on your application will be confirmed on your PayPal account.
I doubt you'll want to do Buyer Credit anytime soon, so that eliminates option 2. And option 1 has the dreaded credit card in it. It was great when I moved last month I went to my credit card's website and changed to my new mailing address. 24 hours later I went to PayPal and changed to my new mailing address and it was confirmed. No muss no fuss.
Maybe in the end there's no tinfoil hat and no blinders. It's all about how much risk you're willing to take and live with the consequences. You have your principles which may give you some difficulty ordering items sometimes, and I'm a little more liberal which allows me to buy what I want on the Internet but may present an identity theft issue down the road.
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gdog,
PM me if you want to discuss me going shopping for you.
I'm about to buy some stuff on http://www.wolf.ne.jp/syuhen/zaurus.html (http://www.wolf.ne.jp/syuhen/zaurus.html), so if you can get what you want there and are willing to pay the postage to ship it stateside, I can get your stuff too.
If you can find a cheaper place online or physical shop in Osaka area I'll happily go there instead.
I have US$ paypal account with a verified address (actually my wife does but it's my credit card ) so you won't get hit with any other charges.
Stu
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gdog:
JMHO, but I think you are being paranoid. Life is full of small risks.
I think internet transactions are very safe.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=81853\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
tombraider there are good identifty thieves and very good identity thieves out there. The very good ones can create a mess for you that will take years to fix. Years in which thousands of your dollars will be spent on lawyer fees, and countless hours of frustration will be experienced while you are trying to clear your good name. Be careful out there. I may be paranoid, but there are countless cases of real people being victimized that have brought me to this point. For some reason there are bad people out there that have not figured out they could spend much less time earning an honest living than it takes them to steal someone else's.
Best regards,
gdog
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Please don't take my post personally, as there are many people that feel the way you do. ...
Thanks for saying that. I was not sure if you were "on the attack" or not. My big problem lies with the fact that I won't let my Bank ship me even one statement to my physical address. Paypal really needs to examine their policy on confirming addresses. There are at least two other ways of doing so that are just as secure, and do not put the consumer's information at risk. In my opinion they just don't want to add the cost incurred by changing their process and therefore they choose to let the consumer pay the price (it is after all free to pay with paypal so long as you aren't victimized in the process of following their policies). They say they'll listen to customers' suggestions but to this point mine have fallen on deaf ears. And even though I've worked in IT for nearly 15 years for a company much larger than ebay and paypal combined, where security is even more important, they don't seem to take much stock in my opinions on how they can make their process easier, cheaper and much more secure). I'm not bragging here. I try very hard to be humble. There are just better ways to do what they are doing.
Best Regards,
gdog
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gdog,
PM me if you want to discuss me going shopping for you.
I'm about to buy some stuff on http://www.wolf.ne.jp/syuhen/zaurus.html (http://www.wolf.ne.jp/syuhen/zaurus.html), so if you can get what you want there and are willing to pay the postage to ship it stateside, I can get your stuff too.
If you can find a cheaper place online or physical shop in Osaka area I'll happily go there instead.
I have US$ paypal account with a verified address (actually my wife does but it's my credit card ) so you won't get hit with any other charges.
Stu
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=81902\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Stubear,
That's one of the nicest and most generous offers anyone who barely knows me has ever offered. Thank you very much. I believe I have been able to get another company to let me use my paypal account to order the items I need. I should know by tomorrow (or Tuesday given the Holiday), if they've gotten my order and are processing it. Hope so because I really woulld like to have an extra battery and ac adapter. I should have ordered the external charger too, but I'll do that with them if this order works out alright.
Thank you again, very, very much!
Best Regards,
gdog
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I have no worries at all shopping online, mostly because AmEx has great protection policies for online fraud. My suggestion is to just find a credit card that offers great protection and use just that one for your online shopping.
With that, I'm going to go shopping for a bubble to live in
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I have no worries at all shopping online, mostly because AmEx has great protection policies for online fraud. My suggestion is to just find a credit card that offers great protection and use just that one for your online shopping.
With that, I'm going to go shopping for a bubble to live in
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82064\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Be sure to have your bank statements, new checks, medical bills and Social Security statements and such sent to the mail box right at the end of the driveway leading to your bubble. It sounds to me like you might alreadly be living in your own little bubble if you haven't heard enough of what's going on around you to make you more aware that your credit card's "all but fifty dollar" protection isn't going to keep you safe from some big-time problems. But hey, you're likely young, don't have a care in the world, and know that you're way ahead of those out to take advantage of you.
By far the biggest problem with identity theft is that the thieves do not take your card and start ringing up charges on it. Not enough bang for your buck there, and only the small time crooks resort to that sort of thing. The good ones gather as much of your personal info as they can in order to manufacture new ID's for you, such as fake driver's licenses (with your name and their picture), birth certificates, and sometimes SS cards in order to open up as many credit accounts as they can in your name, and sometimes even buy houses or boats (which are then resold very quickly). The "new" you does not live at your address and so it takes a while for the accumulation of fraudulent debt to reach you. When it does, one day you'll receive a call or be visited by a debt collector asking when you plan to begin repaying this large debt that you owe. It will not matter that is wasn't actually the real you that signed for it, or that the signatature is not exactly like yours (who's signature looks like a carbon copy each time they write it?). Where you now find yourself is in a position where some very bad people have opened a few dozen accounts in your name, charged somtimes tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt in your name, and you are the one being asked to pay it back. All the while they are enjoying the fruits of your new job which is clearing your name, while they merrily begin working on their next victim.
If you doubt this, google yourself. You will likely be very surprised to see how much information about yourself is readily available out there. It's only the lowest form of identity thief who resorts to dumpster diving or skimming your card number that you used when you had dinner with the wife or filled up your car last.
That's the truth of it. Believe it or not, it's your choice. But do yourself a favor and buy a shredder and use it. Keep your card covered when you insert it into the ATM and never clearly punch in your pin in such a way that someone can capture it on closed circuit tv. Got out to google and type in idenitity theft and read some of the real life horror stories that are happening every day. Don't take my word for it....
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But hey, you're likely young, don't have a care in the world,
Hey, I'm a 63 year old lady and I shop online all the time. My husband (he's 68) just bought $1300 worth of furniture for our living room online! They just delivered it last week.
I must confess I've had 2 problems in the years I've been shopping online (been online since '83 or so - Commodore 64 and CompuServe)...once I very stupidly had a VERY easy to guess password for EBay and someone hijacked my account and tried to sell an IBM laptop with my account and collect the money by Western Union - fortunately, someone got suspicious and reported it immediately to EBay and in about 2 weeks EBay got it all straightened out and restored my account.
Second, somehow someone used my credit card to sign on to some porn sites - in this case, I really didn't use the card online very much but have used it at restaurants and such so I can't say it was gotten online. In any case, the credit card company deleted the charges and I got a new credit card number from them. No big deal.
But then....I live life on the edge.
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But hey, you're likely young, don't have a care in the world,
Hey, I'm a 63 year old lady and I shop online all the time.
But then....I live life on the edge.
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82293\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
If that's the case, go for it. The type of things a crackhead would buy with your identity would not likely be something you'd chose for yourself so straightening things out shouldn't take too long.
Then again, what's a 63 year old lady doing hanging around a geek board anyway. I'm probably guility of stereotyping here, but what kind of things do you use your Z for?
Regards,
gdog
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Do what I do - get a friend with a paypal account to buy it - give them cash :-)
That's how I bought my 860 :-)
So what's your problem ???
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If that's the case, go for it. The type of things a crackhead would buy with your identity would not likely be something you'd chose for yourself so straightening things out shouldn't take too long.
Then again, what's a 63 year old lady doing hanging around a geek board anyway. I'm probably guility of stereotyping here, but what kind of things do you use your Z for?
Wow, you ARE stereotyping. I just bought an Archos AV420 (really was interested in the PMA but from going on the Yahoo message board it looks like most of the Zaurus apps don't work on it yet so I thought I'd wait.
So I think a young person might buy one of those.
I didn't know this board was strictly for geeks.
I mainly use my Z for ebook reading - I download free ones from irc at the undernet at #bookz. We use it in the car as a gps - using a Digitraveler I got from Radio Shack for $30 and qpegps and zroadmap.
I keep my various info on it - logins to web sites - contact info, etc.
I keep it on my night stand at night and if I wake up in the middle of the night (which with old folks like me is often) I check the Woot of the day, check my email and New York Times email version comes through at 3 AM so I read that (in the Sharp ROM email utility, the hot links WORK).
Have music on it that I play in the car. Have Zeecookbook with all my recipes. Have Zbedic with various dictionaries including Latin - which I took 2 years of in high school - bet there aren't many people left who can say that. Have NFDB on it to check calories in foods (am on a diet like half of America).
Anyway, my husband retired 4 years ago and we both have time on our hands what can I say? Guilty of being an old female geek. My kids have turned out fairly geeky too except for youngest daughter who is a writer and lyricist.
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I didn't know this board was strictly for geeks.
<lots of geeky stuff snipped>
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82639\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Sorry to break it to you, but you're definitely a geek.
And I mean that in the nicest possible way
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I didn't know this board was strictly for geeks.
<lots of geeky stuff snipped>
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82639\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Sorry to break it to you, but you're definitely a geek.
And I mean that in the nicest possible way
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82700\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Thanks, kahm.
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I didn't know this board was strictly for geeks.
<lots of geeky stuff snipped>
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82639\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Sorry to break it to you, but you're definitely a geek.
And I mean that in the nicest possible way
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82700\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Not only are you a true geek tombraider (and I too mean that in the nicest possible way), but I hope to be just like you someday. I'm writing this a ~4am so I've got the insomnia part down but I've a long way to go to coming close to using my gadgets, any or all of them collectively to the level that you use your Zaurus. Hats off to you, and my sincere apologies for stereotyping you in the wrong way.
Of course I do still stand by my paranoia concerning the identity theft problems we're facing in this country. Just to show you how deep it runs in me, I don't think they (you know, as in Big Brother), want it fixed until we're all ready to accept either a National ID, or the use of biometrics, or both.
Best Regards,
gdog
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I didn't know this board was strictly for geeks.
<lots of geeky stuff snipped>
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82639\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Sorry to break it to you, but you're definitely a geek.
And I mean that in the nicest possible way
[div align=\"right\"][a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=82700\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a][/div]
Not only are you a true geek tombraider (and I too mean that in the nicest possible way), but I hope to be just like you someday. I'm writing this a ~4am so I've got the insomnia part down but I've a long way to go to coming close to using my gadgets, any or all of them collectively to the level that you use your Zaurus. Hats off to you, and my sincere apologies for stereotyping you in the wrong way.
Of course I do still stand by my paranoia concerning the identity theft problems we're facing in this country. Just to show you how deep it runs in me, I don't think they (you know, as in Big Brother), want it fixed until we're all ready to accept either a National ID, or the use of biometrics, or both.
Best Regards,
gdog
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Thanks, gdog, for your kind apology....really not necessary but thanks for your graciousness.
You have a lot of right on your side on the identity theft....you can see from the incidents I've mentioned that happened to me. AND my husband has a friend from his old company who just emailed him that his daughter just had $7000 stolen out of her online banking account. Someone got (or guessed) her password and then changed the password and sent himself or herself several checks cleaning out her checking and savings accounts. Fortunately, the bank is going to reimburse her entirely - how long can banks afford to do that, I wonder?
My Ebay password was a common dog's name and someone guessed it, so be sure to at least have some difficult password which someone is unlikely to guess.
I just decide to "go for it" and try to beat the odds and hope for the best. I'm sure I will get burned again, though.
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tombraider,
Alas, if only the bad guys would figure out that they could consume less of their lives, in and out of prison and the legal system, earning an honest living. But some folks just can't be taught it would seem....
Regards,
gdog
ps If any of you bad guys out there are geeks yourselves, and happen to be reading this, my ebay password is not gdog
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It sounds to me like you might alreadly be living in your own little bubble if you haven't heard enough of what's going on around you to make you more aware that your credit card's "all but fifty dollar" protection isn't going to keep you safe from some big-time problems. But hey, you're likely young, don't have a care in the world, and know that you're way ahead of those out to take advantage of you
No, AmEx will not protect me from large scale fraud that you keep ranting on about, but that's not what I expect of AmEx. They will however protect me from fradulent purchases on that card, wether the purchases were made online or not.
And yes, I am quite young. But at 31, I think that takes me past the typical age of being naieve and without a care in the world.
By far the biggest problem with identity theft is that the thieves do not take your card and start ringing up charges on it. Not enough bang for your buck there, and only the small time crooks resort to that sort of thing. The good ones gather as much of your personal info as they can in order to manufacture new ID's for you, such as fake driver's licenses (with your name and their picture), birth certificates, and sometimes SS cards in order to open up as many credit accounts as they can in your name, and sometimes even buy houses or boats (which are then resold very quickly). The "new" you does not live at your address and so it takes a while for the accumulation of fraudulent debt to reach you. When it does, one day you'll receive a call or be visited by a debt collector asking when you plan to begin repaying this large debt that you owe. It will not matter that is wasn't actually the real you that signed for it, or that the signatature is not exactly like yours (who's signature looks like a carbon copy each time they write it?). Where you now find yourself is in a position where some very bad people have opened a few dozen accounts in your name, charged somtimes tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt in your name, and you are the one being asked to pay it back. All the while they are enjoying the fruits of your new job which is clearing your name, while they merrily begin working on their next victim.
OMG, are you Sandra Bullock?!? I absolutely *loved* you in that move "The Net"!!!
If you doubt this, google yourself. You will likely be very surprised to see how much information about yourself is readily available out there. It's only the lowest form of identity thief who resorts to dumpster diving or skimming your card number that you used when you had dinner with the wife or filled up your car last.
I did, and the 11th listing on google shows offroadgeek.com. Holy crap.. that's a domain that I own! Wow, what a revelation.
That's the truth of it. Believe it or not, it's your choice. But do yourself a favor and buy a shredder and use it. Keep your card covered when you insert it into the ATM and never clearly punch in your pin in such a way that someone can capture it on closed circuit tv. Got out to google and type in idenitity theft and read some of the real life horror stories that are happening every day. Don't take my word for it....
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Just because I purchase things online with a credit card doesn't mean that I'm young, naieve, and un-aware of identify theft issues. There are plenty of precautions that one can do... I do have a paper shredder (for shredding mail, receipts, etc.), and I check my credit every 6 months. By doing that, I would know relatively quickly if someone decided to open a credit card under my name.
You blindly leap into the assumption that if you use a credit card to buy something online, you are setting yourself up for identify theft. Now if anyone should live in a bubble, I think you're a perfect candidate. I'm sure you and your ridiculous paranoia will feel completely safe there.
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tombraider,
Alas, if only the bad guys would figure out that they could consume less of their lives, in and out of prison and the legal system, earning an honest living. But some folks just can't be taught it would seem....
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I think since the whole debate was on another point - I will assume that this statement is an oversimplification.
Often time, honest living is a monopoly of the priviledged class which gets taken away by society (and its crude machinations) from the under-priviledged. Maybe in America making an honest living is easier, but again its not a absolute truth either, So Bad guys as you paint them - who would be better off spending less time in prisons - dont really do it by choice always, and they are not so ignorant of honest living as much as handicapped from accessing means to an honest living.
I guess the figuring out part has to be done more by society as a whole - i.e us, them, the overloards and all and thats a much bigger debate.
Till then just relax and realise - that life is a mix of good guys and bad guys and the struggle (to make a wholesome set of people) will go on.
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And I don't trust anyone (ie the Internet), to put my credit card number or other personal info out there in order to complete automated transactions. Haven't been burned yet but did have to change my CC number when geeks.net got hacked a couple of years back.
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Other options:
- send travellers cheques in foreign currency to a dealer like TriSoft
- do a wire transfer directly into dealer's bank account - Brando have all the details for this as do PriceJapan. this will cost up to US$50 to do
- take a european or japan holiday to go buy the items!
Paul
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This topic was ressurected just recently, so the participants may not be around anymore, but I frankly think it's silly to imply that anyone using a credit card online is being foolish. In fact, I'd be interested to know how the two issues that gdog brought up are even connected. He said that the problem is not someone charging things to your card, but rather perpetrating a large-scale identity theft campaign against you. Yes, identity theft can be a very real problem. But even if someone should happen to get ahold of your credit card information through an online purchase, I don't see how this allows them to steal your identity. I suppose what he is actually saying is that credit card information is one of many types of information that can be used for identity theft, along with (I would suppose) social security number, address, mother's maiden name, etc etc. But if you use a modicum of caution in other areas of your life, I don't think that using a credit card online would be any more dangerous than giving out the various other kinds of information which we must give out in our daily lives.
(For the record, I've been a heavy online shopper for about as long as such a thing has been possible, and have had no problems.)
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Discover card has this new thing where you don't enter your actuall card into the transaction
Its called "discover desktop" and somehow it makes up a number for you or something.....havnt tried it yet.
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I used to work for one of the largest online credit card processing companies, owned by one of the largest banks in Europe.
The vast majority of fraud problems was the use of credit cards whose details had been stolen in real-life (skimmed in restaurants, bars, clubs etc by unethical staff). Credit card skimmers are as small as matchboxes, and simply store the card's mag stripe for later download. The skimmer simply sells on the card through a number of black-market channels.
The dodgy card details are then tested by making a very small purchase online, to prove the card is active... e.g. buy an mp3 track or a shareware license key.
The problem with internet shopping is that you need a drop-box which gives traceability... so once the card is validated, it's then common to make a major purchase in a real shop (simply take a valid card and overwrite the mag stripe with the skimmed card details - very very few shops check that the printout on the receipt matches what's embossed on the card!).
Thus it's very important to check your card statement as a small apparently insignificant error can tell you your card's been skimmed.
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My big problem lies with the fact that I won't let my Bank ship me even one statement to my physical address.