In my opinion, the best possible demonstration of this lack of security mindset is the time I was repeatedly contacted by some sort of bill-paying service expla

In my opinion, the best possible demonstration of this lack of security mindset is the time I was repeatedly contacted by some sort of bill-paying service explaining that my credit card details were out of date and the bill to "my" Montana-based electrical utility was overdue. It was clear that someone had accidentally signed up for this bill paying service and gave my email address by accident. After the third notice when they mentioned that my electricity was likely to be cut off, I decided I should call and let them know about the mistake so they could try other methods of contacting their customer. The customer service person said no problem, just give me the social security number associated with the account and she'd be able to assist me. I explained that it wasn't my account, and that was the problem. I didn't have the social security number. Faced with this obstacle, she thought for a moment and said, "ok, well to verify that, just give me your social security number and I'll check that it's not the number on the account." I tried to explain the flaw in her reasoning for a while and eventually just made up a social security number so I could fail her test.