6 ms·

Here's perhaps a naive question: How does AT&T have customer social security numbers? Would this be something they received directly from customers, or data the

Here's perhaps a naive question: How does AT&T have customer social security numbers? Would this be something they received directly from customers, or data they've acquired elsewhere and associated with their customer accounts? I may be forgetting it, but I don't recall giving my SSN to any cell provider.

mh- 3y ago
I've definitely always had to provide it when setting up an account. I assume for credit purposes.
- anonym29 3y ago
  Fun fact: if you tell AT&T you're an American citizen who is uncomfortable giving them your SSN, they will simply refuse to do business with you, but if you tell them you're an illegal immigrant who doesn't have an SSN, go into the store to show photo ID, and pay a $200 security deposit, they'll gladly sign you up with no SSN.
  - syndicatedjelly 3y ago
    Fun fact: if you repeat nonsense in multiple threads, people will stop listening to you. It’s kinda like a messaging broker ignoring malicious clients spewing garbage, in case you only understand programming analogies.
    - celdon25 3y ago
      Then offer a rebuttal instead of threats of censorship. This isn’t Reddit.
      - Retric 3y ago
        It’s just BS, they offer prepaid service without any credit checks. Thus the upfront payment. https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans/ https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans/ IMO that 300$ upfront for a year plan is really compelling if you’re not constantly watching videos on your phone.
        anonym29 3y ago
        I was referring to home internet (fiber), not cellular service. Home internet does not offer a prepaid option.
        Retric 3y ago
        So you acknowledge that “they will simply refuse to do business with you” is false. Anyway, I’m actually them for home internet service and didn’t give them a SSN. No idea who you where you got the idea from.
        anonym29 3y ago
        From AT&T, when they told me that, after I told them I wasn't comfortable giving AT&T my SSN, because AT&T is not competent enough to keep that data safe. Case in point: the original post we're commenting on. Though I will do a better job of clarifying in the future that I am specifically referring to my experiences with home internet and not cellular service, you raised a valid criticism of what I posted. Hope you're not adversely affected by this breach. I know for sure I'm not.
    - anonym29 3y ago
      I'm sorry, I didn't realize every single subsection of every comment on HN were all meant to be strictly mutually exclusive, I'll do better in the future.
  - Cerium 3y ago
    Extra fun fact: you can get a California driver's license as an undocumented immigrant without an SSN, but if you provide any documents that show you have legal presence then your SSN name must match exactly on the other documents before you can get a license.
    - celdon25 3y ago
      Yikes
    - FireBeyond 3y ago
      Why would that be an issue, unless your name didn't match across documents you have? Or are you trying to make some big deal about undocumented immigrants being able to get a driver's license? Fun fact: Some state governments, and many of their residents agree, believe that it is not the state governments responsibility to handle federal immigration law, and that being able to meet the requirements to drive a car has nothing to do with residency status.
      - Cerium 3y ago
        It poses an annoyance, If you move to the US, get married, then attempt to get a driver's license it sets your plans back at least a few weeks while you get the paperwork done.
        FireBeyond 3y ago
        This doesn't make much sense, unless you live in an "antiquated" county. As an immigrant who got married shortly after arrival in the US, all the driver's license required for name discrepancies was the marriage certificate.
    - anonym29 3y ago
      Sometimes I think it would be a really fun challenge building a "matrix" of sorts to evaluate requirements and mitigations for large, real-world identity systems across various jurisdictions and with various merchants, something broadly similar to MITRE's ATT&CK Framework.
ribosometronome 3y ago
It's pretty common for post-paid cell phone plans (especially with 'subsidized' phones) to credit check.

mh- 3y ago

I've definitely always had to provide it when setting up an account. I assume for credit purposes.

anonym29 3y ago
Fun fact: if you tell AT&T you're an American citizen who is uncomfortable giving them your SSN, they will simply refuse to do business with you, but if you tell them you're an illegal immigrant who doesn't have an SSN, go into the store to show photo ID, and pay a $200 security deposit, they'll gladly sign you up with no SSN.
- syndicatedjelly 3y ago
  Fun fact: if you repeat nonsense in multiple threads, people will stop listening to you. It’s kinda like a messaging broker ignoring malicious clients spewing garbage, in case you only understand programming analogies.
  - celdon25 3y ago
    Then offer a rebuttal instead of threats of censorship. This isn’t Reddit.
    - Retric 3y ago
      It’s just BS, they offer prepaid service without any credit checks. Thus the upfront payment. https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans/ https://www.att.com/prepaid/plans/ IMO that 300$ upfront for a year plan is really compelling if you’re not constantly watching videos on your phone.
      - anonym29 3y ago
        I was referring to home internet (fiber), not cellular service. Home internet does not offer a prepaid option.
        Retric 3y ago
        So you acknowledge that “they will simply refuse to do business with you” is false. Anyway, I’m actually them for home internet service and didn’t give them a SSN. No idea who you where you got the idea from.
        anonym29 3y ago
        From AT&T, when they told me that, after I told them I wasn't comfortable giving AT&T my SSN, because AT&T is not competent enough to keep that data safe. Case in point: the original post we're commenting on. Though I will do a better job of clarifying in the future that I am specifically referring to my experiences with home internet and not cellular service, you raised a valid criticism of what I posted. Hope you're not adversely affected by this breach. I know for sure I'm not.
  - anonym29 3y ago
    I'm sorry, I didn't realize every single subsection of every comment on HN were all meant to be strictly mutually exclusive, I'll do better in the future.
- Cerium 3y ago
  Extra fun fact: you can get a California driver's license as an undocumented immigrant without an SSN, but if you provide any documents that show you have legal presence then your SSN name must match exactly on the other documents before you can get a license.
  - celdon25 3y ago
    Yikes
  - FireBeyond 3y ago
    Why would that be an issue, unless your name didn't match across documents you have? Or are you trying to make some big deal about undocumented immigrants being able to get a driver's license? Fun fact: Some state governments, and many of their residents agree, believe that it is not the state governments responsibility to handle federal immigration law, and that being able to meet the requirements to drive a car has nothing to do with residency status.
    - Cerium 3y ago
      It poses an annoyance, If you move to the US, get married, then attempt to get a driver's license it sets your plans back at least a few weeks while you get the paperwork done.
      - FireBeyond 3y ago
        This doesn't make much sense, unless you live in an "antiquated" county. As an immigrant who got married shortly after arrival in the US, all the driver's license required for name discrepancies was the marriage certificate.
  - anonym29 3y ago
    Sometimes I think it would be a really fun challenge building a "matrix" of sorts to evaluate requirements and mitigations for large, real-world identity systems across various jurisdictions and with various merchants, something broadly similar to MITRE's ATT&CK Framework.

ribosometronome 3y ago

It's pretty common for post-paid cell phone plans (especially with 'subsidized' phones) to credit check.