morgantown
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posted on August 11, 2001 08:56:16 PM
It has been posted over and over and over again by some "never give out your social security number to PayPal, eBay, etc."
I'm not arguing either way! 
BUT, have you ever looked at your income tax return in the Paid Preparer's Use Only section? Seems Professional Accountants don't mind giving it out? Not only that, you get their address, and EIN number to boot!
What do you think about that?
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morgantown
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posted on August 12, 2001 12:11:47 PM
No comments?
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skeetypete
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posted on August 12, 2001 12:22:14 PM
i think most don't want to give it to paypaland ebay for tax reasons, not for fear of someone doing something evil with it.i really don't remember if paypal asked for mine when i registered but if they did i sure must have given it out because i have an acct. with them, non business acct that is. as a society on the whole i think we are a bit uneasy about doing that. You hear all the time of phone scams on the elderly and one of the things they say is not to give the complete number. this morning i called cox cable to downgrade my service, the operator wanted my ss# for verification, i said no way jose, she then asked for the last 4 digits which i gave her. she obviously vcould see the entire number and could steal it if she wanted to assume my identity etc...... ok so ya got yourself a comment
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morgantown
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posted on August 12, 2001 12:28:58 PM
Thanks I feel better!
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capotasto
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posted on August 12, 2001 12:59:12 PM
"the operator wanted my ss# for verification, i said no way jose, she then asked for the last 4 digits which i gave her. she obviously vcould see the entire number ..."
So she had your number but you wouldn't give her the entire number because... ?
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dman3
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posted on August 12, 2001 01:23:22 PM
Well For all who know your Tax ID nubmber (TIN) is your SS# businesses use this number every day to buy Whole sale so they don't have to pay sales tax for items that will be resold..
One of the biggest reasons SS# are stole is to Start a business with anothers name and information they open up a small office for some service take a lot of costomer money and off they go leaveing the Real owner of the number holding the bag and prove it wasn't them ....
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
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toollady
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posted on August 12, 2001 01:43:07 PM
Not all states use the SS# for the TIN# for small businesses. My state issues a TIN# for sales and use tax purposes(number is same for both)
My own accountant has a FIN# and doesn't use his SS# on tax returns.
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skeetypete
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posted on August 12, 2001 01:44:55 PM
capotasto
i didn't give the entire number because that ius how i ahve been conditioned, never give out the entire number yada yada... just a reflex response i guess, as soon as she asked and i refused, miliseconds apart , i knew she had it but like i said reflex response................so i have wondered what does you ID mena/stand for/come from???
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dman3
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posted on August 12, 2001 01:54:02 PM
Right some states don't use you SS# for TIN but no matter your SS# comes from the federal goverment a good percetage of people work for the government so who don't know it or have it anyway
How many people along the way see your income tax returns fed and state.
and how many people in banks you do business with have access to this information bank turn over help very fast..
On the bottom of all SS# cards it does say not to be used for ID purposes But this don't hold even close to true any more you can't even have a phone or lights turned on with out provideing that number ...
http://www.Dman-N-Company.com
Email [email protected]
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spittingcamel
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posted on August 12, 2001 01:57:54 PM
It is different to use your SS#, where you are lagally required than to hand it out to everyone who wanta an ID for you. Ask Social Security, they will tell you not to give it out.
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kept2much-07
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posted on August 12, 2001 09:12:15 PM
I'm amazed at how many people have their social security numbers on their checks!
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eSeller004
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posted on August 13, 2001 04:59:25 AM
You know Citibank's C2it service requires you to enter both your Social Security # AND Date of Birth online, to be stored in their database. Imagine how you could be compromised if hackers broke into Citibank's site! There'd be nothing left for you to hide!  I was going to sign up for the service, but when I reached the point where I had to enter the SSN# and Date of Birth (they claim it's for user verification) I immediately closed the signup screen. No way in heck am I going to enter that info online! If they eliminated the need to enter those 2 pieces of info I'll bet their adoption rates would be much higher. Heck, even PayPal and BillPoint don't require SSN#s and Date of Birth for verification.
What is with C2it???
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sadie999
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posted on August 13, 2001 05:10:34 AM
eSeller, I did the same thing at c2it. I'm wondering if they'll let you do it by phone. One thing I've learned to do is that when giving out your cc or ss# using a cordless phone, change channels every few digits. Warn the person on the other end that they'll hear a beep while you're giving them the number.
The thing is, even if we do it by phone, it will be entered into a computer data base which could still be hacked. Cwap!
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eSeller004
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posted on August 13, 2001 05:21:01 AM
sadie,
Interesting. You're absolutely right, if it's in a database the info can be easily compromised whether online or offline. I download stuff from databases to disk all the time.
I had my credit card info stolen when Egghead.com was hacked earlier this year so I'm wary of giving out personal info like SSN# and Date of Birth online or anywhere I don't have to. I really doubt Citibank is more secure than Egghead!
OT, why the heck do cellphone companies require SSN# and Date of Birth??? Think about the database of user info they're compiling!
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spyked
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posted on August 13, 2001 06:22:09 AM
I just bought a cellphone over the weekend and they asked for my SS# to run a credit check - since I was signing up with a service
to use it with.
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eSeller004
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posted on August 13, 2001 07:46:11 AM
They say it's for a credit check (How many people have ever been turned down when trying to signup for a cellphone account?) when in reality they're more likely viewing it as an EASY opportunity to acquire customer demographic information. That's what all these companies want --- to compile massive databases containing key information about each of us, including our spending habits. Our personal information is the most valuable information on the Net! The more info we're willing to give, the more they'll attempt to take! The Telecoms especially want our information since they view us as perpetual cash machines and they're desperate to understand and retain their fickle customer base. Besides they're always in need of buyers for all the new gadgets and service plans they're constantly rolling out. In addition they'll monetize the info they've gathered about us by "sharing" it with partner companies.
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larmil
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posted on August 13, 2001 08:22:23 AM
The feds have finally woke up. Tax Preparers no longer have to give out their Social Security Number. You may notice a lot of us (myself included) using the PTIN which is a number assigned just for this purpose.
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