Comments on: Identity Verification Sucks! (Again!)

By: Why Low-Cost or No-Fee Products May Not Be Such A Good Deal

Why Low-Cost or No-Fee Products May Not Be Such A Good Deal — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 23:48:15 +0000

[...] Or check transfers to foreign banks – an online bank may require you to go through an identification process, and if you fail it, things could get [...]

By: Additional Platinum Card? – Gimme A Break! | Ask Mr Credit Card's Blog

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:35:04 +0000

[...] recently described an episode by she had trouble with the identification process with one of her accounts. Fascinating scary incident. I think we all have something to learn from [...]

By: Lee

Lee — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:06:03 +0000

Haha glad I could be of assistance!

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:28:46 +0000

Lee, thank you for sharing your experience! The info that the question data came from (the credit reporting agency) Equifax is really helpful. If nothing else, it settles an argument between me and my boyfriend as to whether credit reporting agencies sell/provide their info as questions to other companies!

By: Lee

Lee — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:06:09 +0000

That is really quite frightening. I experienced my first external verification exercise when I signed up for a share trade account recently. I knew all the answers, but the “where the hell are you getting these questions from?” thought did cause me to sit back and think.

Buried in the small print was “Question Data By Equifax”. hmm…

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 05:28:36 +0000

Mike, I disagree with this part of your comment: “there was no way anyone else could have answered those questions.” First of all, I couldn’t answer the questions, so if it were true, the statement would have to be “there was no way ANYONE could have answered those questions.” Which makes it dumb. But that’s not even true – there’s one or two people who would have had a MUCH better chance of answering all of those questions right: my dad and his wife. Especially my dad, who would have known all of that info about his wife, as well as the one question about my mom (his former wife) and the question about my work history. He would have a HUGE chance of getting all six questions right.

Of course, my dad is a good guy who’s not going to try to take money out of my accounts. But it’s still scary, since a large portion of identity theft is actually committed by family members of the victims. Knowing that, no, I do not think these security questions are very effective.

By: Mike the Mover @ national movers

Mike the Mover @ national movers — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:22:04 +0000

Wow, you sure had to jump through a lot of hoops to get that taken care of. On the one hand I agree with you about this being somewhat of an unreasonable way to verify your identity. On the other hand, I think you should be glad that they are this strict. What if someone was actually trying to pretend to be you? There was no way anyone but you was going to transfer that money – no way anyone else could have answered those questions. I think that should be a little comforting; the inconvenience is worth the security. As long as it works properly.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:09:53 +0000

You’ve convinced me to run the reports. What a nightmare. I know we’ve helped people try to invest in CDs where banks have online processes. And about 50% of the time, they are unable to answer the majority of the questions.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:15:20 +0000

Wow, yeah, very similar situation. Although going by their maiden names won’t solve everything – as you can see in my story above, my dad’s new wife was still listed by her last name from her first marriage, even after she legally changed it. Because in addition to not listing things but SSN or date-of-birth, some places don’t bother to update your name, either. It’s a total mess.

By: Griffin Boyce

Griffin Boyce — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 09:40:30 +0000

I’ve had similar problems when living in a town with two “Julie Boyce”s who were (at one point) with my dad. One being my mother and one being my brother’s mother. A lot of agencies don’t bother to list someone by SSN or date-of-birth, but cross-reference spouse/partner etc.

My mother reportedly had more trouble in this area. “Yes, I’m her, no not HER, the other one. Yes, I’ve also had a child with him.” etc They both go by their maiden names now (Julie F vs. Julie W., so no more mixups).

Which I find totally hilarious btw. =)