41–50 of 195 posts
Okay, blocked of time to freeze my credit on Monday.
And, if you happen to forget it, they will unlock it if you can cough up the very information supposedly compromised in the equifax leak anyway.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
In Canada you can't do anything meaningful without a photo driver's license or a passport. My wife got a passport just to have a quality ID. Before that she couldn't even open a chequing account.
Ditto NZ and Aus. Also means that no national ID card or number is necessary. Seems kind of obvious to me. The use of SSN as proof of identity in the US just seems like misuse to me.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fixed, thanks. What do you feel are some sensible systems used by the rest of the world? One that's hopefully hard enough to break but easy enough not to cause massive hassles.
To confirm your identify: national ID card, passport or driver license. To confirm your income: Your yearly income tax sheet, a payslip or your contract of employment. There is really no reason whatsoever for credit check and background check agencies to exist. All they do is ask for these papers anyway.
Okay, blocked of time to freeze my credit on Monday.
The pin code they will give you to unlock it is the date/time stamp of when you locked it. And, if you happen to forget it, they will unlock it if you can cough up the very information supposedly compromised in the equifax leak anyway.
Wait, what? Any more reading on this?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Ditto NZ and Aus. Also means that no national ID card or number is necessary. Seems kind of obvious to me. The use of SSN as proof of identity in the US just seems like misuse to me.
There's a fantastic CGP Grey video on that. I'd search for a link but on phone.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
To confirm your identify: national ID card, passport or driver license. To confirm your income: Your yearly income tax sheet, a payslip or your contract of employment. There is really no reason whatsoever for credit check and background check agencies to exist. All they do is ask for these papers anyway.
It's worth noting that the perpetrator in the bloomberg article had a fake driver's license in the name of the victim. So ID cards aren't a complete solution either.
Counterintuitively, this is evidence that the Equifax breach isn't necessarily going to cause massive harm. If someone wanted to impersonate you, they could already. I remain hopeful that the full list of 140M SSNs will be posted in full. It's a rare opportunity: if that happens, the US will have no choice but to finally switch to a new system. One that doesn't rely on SSNs being private. That's the absurdity. It is…
How would a more secure system work? Biometrics? Smart cards?
Just look what many other countries do.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Fixed, thanks. What do you feel are some sensible systems used by the rest of the world? One that's hopefully hard enough to break but easy enough not to cause massive hassles.
Usually multiple forms of ID. In Australia you have a "points" system (each form of ID is worth a certain number of points and they are additive) where you need 100 points to create a bank account. This translates to a drivers license and passport, or drivers license and existing debit card, etc. In Estonia I believe the system is based on public key cryptography (every national ID has a private key that is used for…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> the world The United States. I assure you that even though other countries have credit reporting, they do not use SSNs. > will have no choice but to finally switch to a new system. Really? I think they will just carry on unless and until the financial downside (losses from extending bad credit, or lawsuits from identity theft victims, or penalties from the federal government intervening directly) is shown to be rea…
Other countries have the equivalent of SSNs, i.e., a number issued by the government tax collector. However, other countries don't use it as a form of ID. In my experience, they use passports, ID cards, drivers licenses, etc., which are supposedly "hard to forge".
Counterintuitively, this is evidence that the Equifax breach isn't necessarily going to cause massive harm. If someone wanted to impersonate you, they could already. I remain hopeful that the full list of 140M SSNs will be posted in full. It's a rare opportunity: if that happens, the US will have no choice but to finally switch to a new system. One that doesn't rely on SSNs being private. That's the absurdity. It is…