Starlink

JohnInCarolina

Ozzie_Isaac said:

JohnInCarolina said:

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

JohnInCarolina said:

alaskanassasin said:

I cannot think of any other organizations that asks for my ssn to verify my id beyond financial institutions, even then it is rare.

Yep, it is a ridiculous request.

My SSN was snatched (along with lots of other PII) in the large federal data breach that occurred about seven years ago.  We discovered this when we went to file our taxes, only to learn that someone had already filed a tax return impersonating me.  Spent a lot of time unwinding that with the IRS, which was a friggin nightmare.  

So I'm overly sensitive to this kind of thing.  When a company asks for my SSN, my immediate question is why they need it.  I have yet to hear any of them provide an adequate justification.  Typically they have other options to verify your identity, which you only discover once you ask.  

I was unaware that PornHub was a federal agency. Learn something new on here every day. 

Hahaha.

One thing that should be obvious in case I didn't mention it: you don't ever want to walk in to an IRS office.  If you think the DMV is bad, you have not been inside of an IRS office.  Nobody is happy to be there.  Not the employees, not the citizens, nobody.  And it shows.  

With Biden's trillion dollar plus up, I expect the offices to be much nicer now.  May be even a Starbucks inside.  Plus, a lot more folks will get the chance to interact and the IRS will get an opportunity to improve their people forward interactions.

alaskanassasin

Ozzie_Isaac said:

alaskanassasin said:

That sucks @JohnInCarolina what a pain in the ass.  Local companies ask for mine when filing out tact exempt forms, I just make something up that is close, my ssn is not going in a desk drawer at auto zone. If something were to come up they have my name and address.  

 I asked him (T-Mobile)why he needed it and he said so I could qualify for future offers, I told him I am not interested in future offers, and this service is pay as you go. He said he had to have it to proceed so again I just made one up. 

That is good info to know.  I need to revaluate my security procedures.  Will probably start with "no" in all situations and go from there.  I admit, my spidey sense went off when they asked, but being so close to having internet, my guard dropped.  I assumed it was like signing up for utilities.

 You are way ahead of me, I need to lock our credit. as a matter of fact I will do that this week, do you have to go to all three or is there one place I can go?

Legume

alaskanassasin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

alaskanassasin said:

That sucks @JohnInCarolina what a pain in the ass.  Local companies ask for mine when filing out tact exempt forms, I just make something up that is close, my ssn is not going in a desk drawer at auto zone. If something were to come up they have my name and address.  

 I asked him (T-Mobile)why he needed it and he said so I could qualify for future offers, I told him I am not interested in future offers, and this service is pay as you go. He said he had to have it to proceed so again I just made one up. 

That is good info to know.  I need to revaluate my security procedures.  Will probably start with "no" in all situations and go from there.  I admit, my spidey sense went off when they asked, but being so close to having internet, my guard dropped.  I assumed it was like signing up for utilities.

 You are way ahead of me, I need to lock our credit. as a matter of fact I will do that this week, do you have to go to all three or is there one place I can go?

You have to do all three individually via their websites, unless you go through a pay service.

There are actually four, but the fourth doesn’t seem to matter.

alaskanassasin

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

alaskanassasin said:

That sucks @JohnInCarolina what a pain in the ass.  Local companies ask for mine when filing out tact exempt forms, I just make something up that is close, my ssn is not going in a desk drawer at auto zone. If something were to come up they have my name and address.  

 I asked him (T-Mobile)why he needed it and he said so I could qualify for future offers, I told him I am not interested in future offers, and this service is pay as you go. He said he had to have it to proceed so again I just made one up. 

That is good info to know.  I need to revaluate my security procedures.  Will probably start with "no" in all situations and go from there.  I admit, my spidey sense went off when they asked, but being so close to having internet, my guard dropped.  I assumed it was like signing up for utilities.

 You are way ahead of me, I need to lock our credit. as a matter of fact I will do that this week, do you have to go to all three or is there one place I can go?

You have to do all three individually via their websites, unless you go through a pay service.

There are actually four, but the fourth doesn’t seem to matter.

On it, Transunion did not ask for my full ssn. Also curious how much $ they sell my personal data for "promotional credit checks"

alaskanassasin

optoutprescreen.com

alaskanassasin

While your name will be removed from the lists that Equifax, Experian, Innovis and TransUnion provide to businesses for the purpose of making you a firm offer of credit or insurance, you may continue to receive offers from sources that do not use Consumer Credit Reporting Companies to compile their lists.

 Awesome

Ozzie_Isaac

alaskanassasin said:

optoutprescreen.com

Make sure you do not use:

Optoutsceeen.russia

Or

Optoutscreen.nigeria

Legume

alaskanassasin said:

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

alaskanassasin said:

That sucks @JohnInCarolina what a pain in the ass.  Local companies ask for mine when filing out tact exempt forms, I just make something up that is close, my ssn is not going in a desk drawer at auto zone. If something were to come up they have my name and address.  

 I asked him (T-Mobile)why he needed it and he said so I could qualify for future offers, I told him I am not interested in future offers, and this service is pay as you go. He said he had to have it to proceed so again I just made one up. 

That is good info to know.  I need to revaluate my security procedures.  Will probably start with "no" in all situations and go from there.  I admit, my spidey sense went off when they asked, but being so close to having internet, my guard dropped.  I assumed it was like signing up for utilities.

 You are way ahead of me, I need to lock our credit. as a matter of fact I will do that this week, do you have to go to all three or is there one place I can go?

You have to do all three individually via their websites, unless you go through a pay service.

There are actually four, but the fourth doesn’t seem to matter.

On it, Transunion did not ask for my full ssn. Also curious how much $ they sell my personal data for "promotional credit checks"

Don’t lose your passwords or passcodes, anything you need to get from them or change has to be done in writing, snail mail.  

Also, when you need to open your credit up to inquiries like for a bank or car loan, you can ask the lender which agency they will use and the only have to unlock those (I’ve been told either a or b by a bank).  When you unblock, you can usually specify a number of days for it to expire and it will revert to locked.

Ozzie_Isaac

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

alaskanassasin said:

That sucks @JohnInCarolina what a pain in the ass.  Local companies ask for mine when filing out tact exempt forms, I just make something up that is close, my ssn is not going in a desk drawer at auto zone. If something were to come up they have my name and address.  

 I asked him (T-Mobile)why he needed it and he said so I could qualify for future offers, I told him I am not interested in future offers, and this service is pay as you go. He said he had to have it to proceed so again I just made one up. 

That is good info to know.  I need to revaluate my security procedures.  Will probably start with "no" in all situations and go from there.  I admit, my spidey sense went off when they asked, but being so close to having internet, my guard dropped.  I assumed it was like signing up for utilities.

 You are way ahead of me, I need to lock our credit. as a matter of fact I will do that this week, do you have to go to all three or is there one place I can go?

You have to do all three individually via their websites, unless you go through a pay service.

There are actually four, but the fourth doesn’t seem to matter.

On it, Transunion did not ask for my full ssn. Also curious how much $ they sell my personal data for "promotional credit checks"

Don’t lose your passwords or passcodes, anything you need to get from them or change has to be done in writing, snail mail.  

Also, when you need to open your credit up to inquiries like for a bank or car loan, you can ask the lender which agency they will use and the only have to unlock those (I’ve been told either a or b by a bank).  When you unblock, you can usually specify a number of days for it to expire and it will revert to locked.

This is a benefit of LifeLock.  They handle all the locking, unlocking for me, and they call whenever a credit request is made.  I approve/deny on my phone.  If it was fraudulent I let them know and they handle it all 

For my mess, I had to sign a bunch of powers of attorney and they handled it all.  I had apartments, utilities, and bank accounts rented/opened in my name, plus about $10k in fradulent checks.  First way I found out was a collection agency calling and threatening me.  I spent months and months fighting it.  Up to 20hrs a week at times.  It took Lifelock a month and they had it all under control and all my credit reports fixed.  This all happened while I was moving across the country and trying to finance a house.  Incredibly stressful time without the added spector of financial ruin.

The Cen-Tex Smoker

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

alaskanassasin said:

That sucks @JohnInCarolina what a pain in the ass.  Local companies ask for mine when filing out tact exempt forms, I just make something up that is close, my ssn is not going in a desk drawer at auto zone. If something were to come up they have my name and address.  

 I asked him (T-Mobile)why he needed it and he said so I could qualify for future offers, I told him I am not interested in future offers, and this service is pay as you go. He said he had to have it to proceed so again I just made one up. 

That is good info to know.  I need to revaluate my security procedures.  Will probably start with "no" in all situations and go from there.  I admit, my spidey sense went off when they asked, but being so close to having internet, my guard dropped.  I assumed it was like signing up for utilities.

 You are way ahead of me, I need to lock our credit. as a matter of fact I will do that this week, do you have to go to all three or is there one place I can go?

You have to do all three individually via their websites, unless you go through a pay service.

There are actually four, but the fourth doesn’t seem to matter.

On it, Transunion did not ask for my full ssn. Also curious how much $ they sell my personal data for "promotional credit checks"

Don’t lose your passwords or passcodes, anything you need to get from them or change has to be done in writing, snail mail.  

Also, when you need to open your credit up to inquiries like for a bank or car loan, you can ask the lender which agency they will use and the only have to unlock those (I’ve been told either a or b by a bank).  When you unblock, you can usually specify a number of days for it to expire and it will revert to locked.

This is a benefit of LifeLock.  They handle all the locking, unlocking for me, and they call whenever a credit request is made.  I approve/deny on my phone.  If it was fraudulent I let them know and they handle it all 

For my mess, I had to sign a bunch of powers of attorney and they handled it all.  I had apartments, utilities, and bank accounts rented/opened in my name, plus about $10k in fradulent checks.  First way I found out was a collection agency calling and threatening me.  I spent months and months fighting it.  Up to 20hrs a week at times.  It took Lifelock a month and they had it all under control and all my credit reports fixed.  This all happened while I was moving across the country and trying to finance a house.  Incredibly stressful time without the added spector of financial ruin.

I have been very lucky but I have to do this. Had Lifelock open in my browser when I read this. My thought is: Get the cheapest protection (the $25,000 guarantee) because if they do their job right,I shouldn't have to worry about back end payouts. solid logic or being cheap?

Legume

I bought a truck from a dealer and wrote a check for it because I was financing via a credit union afterward.  Signing papers at the dealer and he says their machine won’t read my check so they can’t accept it.  He knew I had driven a distance to get there. You can wire us the money next day or give us a cashiers check, but you’ll have to come back for the truck.  Unless…you sign this loan application which we promise to not process unless you don’t send us the money.  Based on the sales ‘experience’ I didn’t trust them at all.  However, when I realized they can’t pull my credit while it’s locked, I was much more comfortable that they really couldn’t do anything.

Ozzie_Isaac

The Cen-Tex Smoker said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

alaskanassasin said:

That sucks @JohnInCarolina what a pain in the ass.  Local companies ask for mine when filing out tact exempt forms, I just make something up that is close, my ssn is not going in a desk drawer at auto zone. If something were to come up they have my name and address.  

 I asked him (T-Mobile)why he needed it and he said so I could qualify for future offers, I told him I am not interested in future offers, and this service is pay as you go. He said he had to have it to proceed so again I just made one up. 

That is good info to know.  I need to revaluate my security procedures.  Will probably start with "no" in all situations and go from there.  I admit, my spidey sense went off when they asked, but being so close to having internet, my guard dropped.  I assumed it was like signing up for utilities.

 You are way ahead of me, I need to lock our credit. as a matter of fact I will do that this week, do you have to go to all three or is there one place I can go?

You have to do all three individually via their websites, unless you go through a pay service.

There are actually four, but the fourth doesn’t seem to matter.

On it, Transunion did not ask for my full ssn. Also curious how much $ they sell my personal data for "promotional credit checks"

Don’t lose your passwords or passcodes, anything you need to get from them or change has to be done in writing, snail mail.  

Also, when you need to open your credit up to inquiries like for a bank or car loan, you can ask the lender which agency they will use and the only have to unlock those (I’ve been told either a or b by a bank).  When you unblock, you can usually specify a number of days for it to expire and it will revert to locked.

This is a benefit of LifeLock.  They handle all the locking, unlocking for me, and they call whenever a credit request is made.  I approve/deny on my phone.  If it was fraudulent I let them know and they handle it all 

For my mess, I had to sign a bunch of powers of attorney and they handled it all.  I had apartments, utilities, and bank accounts rented/opened in my name, plus about $10k in fradulent checks.  First way I found out was a collection agency calling and threatening me.  I spent months and months fighting it.  Up to 20hrs a week at times.  It took Lifelock a month and they had it all under control and all my credit reports fixed.  This all happened while I was moving across the country and trying to finance a house.  Incredibly stressful time without the added spector of financial ruin.

I have been very lucky but I have to do this. Had Lifelock open in my browser when I read this. My thought is: Get the cheapest protection (the $25,000 guarantee) because if they do their job right,I shouldn't have to worry about back end payouts. solid logic or being cheap?

They have changed their plans since I last looked, but their basic plan was really good.  It did the stuff required to protect you.  The deluxe plans add in convenience items and more monitoring options.  I have my bank accounts, credit cards, SSN, addresses, and other info monitored, but that is nice to have.

I recommend try the basic plan because it will do the essentials.  If you like the service then upgrade.  They are good about changing plans and packages.

alaskanassasin

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Legume said:

alaskanassasin said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

alaskanassasin said:

That sucks @JohnInCarolina what a pain in the ass.  Local companies ask for mine when filing out tact exempt forms, I just make something up that is close, my ssn is not going in a desk drawer at auto zone. If something were to come up they have my name and address.  

 I asked him (T-Mobile)why he needed it and he said so I could qualify for future offers, I told him I am not interested in future offers, and this service is pay as you go. He said he had to have it to proceed so again I just made one up. 

That is good info to know.  I need to revaluate my security procedures.  Will probably start with "no" in all situations and go from there.  I admit, my spidey sense went off when they asked, but being so close to having internet, my guard dropped.  I assumed it was like signing up for utilities.

 You are way ahead of me, I need to lock our credit. as a matter of fact I will do that this week, do you have to go to all three or is there one place I can go?

You have to do all three individually via their websites, unless you go through a pay service.

There are actually four, but the fourth doesn’t seem to matter.

On it, Transunion did not ask for my full ssn. Also curious how much $ they sell my personal data for "promotional credit checks"

Don’t lose your passwords or passcodes, anything you need to get from them or change has to be done in writing, snail mail.  

Also, when you need to open your credit up to inquiries like for a bank or car loan, you can ask the lender which agency they will use and the only have to unlock those (I’ve been told either a or b by a bank).  When you unblock, you can usually specify a number of days for it to expire and it will revert to locked.

Got them all froze. passwords and passcodes tucked away and safe. Told swmbo she is next. 

 Thanks for pushing me through to complete this guys.

alaskanassasin

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

Legume

alaskanassasin said:

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

They were fine with it, cleared it ahead of time and they had this scanner that reads the checks and verified funds.  It’s a service they subscribe to and because the check didn’t scan properly, the service wouldn’t guarantee the check, so they wouldn’t take it.

nolaegghead

One advantage to slumming it in a small, cheap (paid for) house is never having to get loans for anything.  When you start buying cars by paying cash and you don't disrupt your cash flow, all your payments that you aren't making will allow you to buy the next one with cash and so on so forth.  Theoretically.  Unless you can't save money because it burns a hole in your pocket or you have a pack of misfit parasites under your wing.

BigreenGreg

alaskanassasin said:

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

Took mine for my Mustang last year.

Ozzie_Isaac

nolaegghead said:

One advantage to slumming it in a small, cheap (paid for) house is never having to get loans for anything.  When you start buying cars by paying cash and you don't disrupt your cash flow, all your payments that you aren't making will allow you to buy the next one with cash and so on so forth.  Theoretically.  Unless you can't save money because it burns a hole in your pocket or you have a pack of misfit parasites under your wing.

It is the misfit parasites that cramp a person's style.  I added it up once.  I cried.  I vowed to never do it again.

alaskanassasin

BigreenGreg said:

alaskanassasin said:

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

Took mine for my Mustang last year.

Maybe I should get a hair cut and stand up straight…

Botch

Would a cable/phone/intranetz provider need your SSN to check your credit score?  My current provider checked my credit score to allow them to provide me their DVR without a deposit, but I can't remember if I gave them my SSN (too many braincells ago).  

Ozzie_Isaac

Ozzie_Isaac said:

nolaegghead said:

One advantage to slumming it in a small, cheap (paid for) house is never having to get loans for anything.  When you start buying cars by paying cash and you don't disrupt your cash flow, all your payments that you aren't making will allow you to buy the next one with cash and so on so forth.  Theoretically.  Unless you can't save money because it burns a hole in your pocket or you have a pack of misfit parasites under your wing.

It is the misfit parasites that cramp a person's style.  I added it up once.  I cried.  I vowed to never do it again.

Should clarify, vowed never to add it up again. 

caliking

alaskanassasin said:

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

CarMax did. Manager came over to peek at the balance shown on my bank's app, to ensure that it exceeded the amount of the check. Signed off on it, and it was all good. 

littlerascal56

alaskanassasin said:

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

Jaguar dealer in Wichita Kansas took my personal check!  I have bought all my vehicles for the past 48 years with a personal check. Never have needed to finance them…. You get a LOT better deal for CASH!  Cash is always KING. 

Ozzie_Isaac

littlerascal56 said:

alaskanassasin said:

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

Jaguar dealer in Wichita Kansas took my personal check!  I have bought all my vehicles for the past 48 years with a personal check. Never have needed to finance them…. You get a LOT better deal for CASH!  Cash is always KING. 

I have found using dealer financing you get better deals and better incentives.  Then you pay the note off before the first payment.  Dealer has more room/money to play with because they also get money for selling the loan.

Dealers make money many different ways off a car deal.  The actual sale is only a portion.

JonWesson

littlerascal56 said:

alaskanassasin said:

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

Jaguar dealer in Wichita Kansas took my personal check!  I have bought all my vehicles for the past 48 years with a personal check. Never have needed to finance them…. You get a LOT better deal for CASH!  Cash is always KING. 

dealer rustproofing was on your invoices to.     guys like yous really do grow on trees

Mark_B_Good

What speeds are people getting (really) on Starlink.

RyanStl

I had not heard of starlink before this thread. I heard of that failed cell phone attempt to send up tons of satellites.  This sounds like it will be a huge space junk problem. How long before these low orbit satellites start coming down?

pgprescott

Ozzie_Isaac said:

littlerascal56 said:

alaskanassasin said:

@Legume I have yet to see a car dealer take a personal check.

Jaguar dealer in Wichita Kansas took my personal check!  I have bought all my vehicles for the past 48 years with a personal check. Never have needed to finance them…. You get a LOT better deal for CASH!  Cash is always KING. 

I have found using dealer financing you get better deals and better incentives.  Then you pay the note off before the first payment.  Dealer has more room/money to play with because they also get money for selling the loan.

Dealers make money many different ways off a car deal.  The actual sale is only a portion.

This is correct.

It's not like they can pocket the cash in that business. Maybe on an independent used car lot, but not on a dealership anymore.

alaskanassasin

 Well I just plugged in the T-Mobile device. We will run both for a while and see what shakes out but for plug and play it’s already faster that the pole mounted satellite and router combo that att installed, also $20 a month cheaper.  

smittydog27

GD….cut the Atlas pics.  You know it slows things down.  Anywho…I use Starlink… Love it.  Cost me 500.00 for equipment then 99 a month.  Couldn’t work remote with out it.  Anyway I got on the list a while ago…took me about 7 months or so.