01-01-2004, 12:21 AM
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Thinker
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 434
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Am I being over sensitive?
I recently bought a high ticket item online from a small retailer. My credit card was approved and an email was sent to me that the item was being prepared for shipment.
A couple hours later I was walking through the local mall with my daughter when I got a phone call from a California area code on my cell phone.
The caller introduced himself as so and so from the retailer I purchased the item from and informed me that due to a high level of fraud they are using a service from a firm called VerID to help them verify the identity of the purchaser.
He then went on to read me a series of five questions with multiple part answers that were pulled from my personal credit history. They started with what are the last 4 digits of my Social Security number and went all the way through who held my mortgage, the last 3 addresses listed in my history, who the builder was that I bought my current house from, etc.
I made it clear to this guy that I was appalled by this since I didn't know him, didn't even know for certain he was even with the firm I bought the item from, and certainly didn't feel comfortable at all giving out all this private information over the phone. Even though I was just confirming information he was reading to me (which meant he already had it) it bothered the hell out of me.
I have since reiterated to them I will not buy from them again and that he had to realize that if the purchase process made me as a customer very uncomfortable then it should be considered a failure from his perspective. He didn't agree and has in fact gotten huffy that I begrudge his right to protect himself from fraud.
Am I being oversensitive to this? I know as a small business owner that nonpayment is a very bad thing. I also know that far to many people we don't know about are accessing our personal financial information all the time and adding a simple purchase as an event that triggers that just seems to much to me.
Your comments are welcome.
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