Wesrock@aol.com wrote:
> In a message dated Mon, 21 Feb 2005 23:35:24 -0500 Choreboy <
> choreboyREMOVE@localnet.com> writes:
>> The number was 800 852 5321.
>> I often encounter websites that ask my date of birth without good
>> reason. I alter it because I've heard it can be useful to criminals
>> (even if the organization is reputable, such as a newspaper). That's
>> why it concerns me that unidentified people asked my aunt's date of
>> birth in peculiar circumstances.
>> Choreboy
> I believe it was mentioned earlier that they answered "Marlboro."
> Presuming it is honestly associated with the makers of Marlboro
> cigarettes, depending on their purpose they may ask for the date of
> birth to identify whether the person is old enough to legally buy
> cigarettes.
> Wes Leatherock
> wesrock@aol.com
> wleathus@yahoo.com
Is it possible for a consumer to order cigarettes from the
manufacturer by telephone? Did they call my aunt to make sure the
order hadn't been placed by a minor using her credit card?
If a customer placed an order and they phoned to check, they could
lose the sale and the customer if she didn't return the call. I find
it remarkable that the caller didn't name her company so the customer
would be more likely to call back.
Hundreds of companies call themselves "Marlboro", but I don't think
the cigarette manufacturer is one. Wouldn't they answer the phone
"Philip Morris"?
Legitimate orders are oftem placed with somebody else's credit card.
So it was immaterial whether my aunt smoked. The only way to check
the order was the tell her had been ordered. She might have said her
adult daughter smoked that brand and had permission to use the card.
Instead of telling her what it was about, they claimed to be looking
for somebody else with her name (and presumably her phone number). If
the toll-free number she called were a consumer line for Philip
Morris, I would have expected it to be mentioned somewhere on the web.
I haven't found it.
DevilsPGD wrote:
> In message <telecom24.78.7@telecom-digest.org> Choreboy
> <choreboyREMOVE@localnet.com> wrote:
>> Dave Garland wrote:
>>> It was a dark and stormy night when Choreboy
>>> <choreboyREMOVE@localnet.com> wrote:
>>>> Did scammers get my aunt's date of birth? Would that be useful?
>>> It would be useful if you were committing identity theft. Not to say
>>> that is what is happening, but it is a bit odd.
>>> It would be interesting to learn who that toll-free number lists to.
>>> If you shared the number, perhaps someone more knowledgable than I
>>> would look it up and learn more about its owner.
>> The number was 800 852 5321.
>> I often encounter websites that ask my date of birth without good
>> reason. I alter it because I've heard it can be useful to criminals
>> (even if the organization is reputable, such as a newspaper). That's
>> why it concerns me that unidentified people asked my aunt's date of
>> birth in peculiar circumstances.
> 1) In the US, Federal law requires them to determine age to determine
> whether collection information is legal, as well as "adult" content.
> Admittedly a birthday isn't "required" but it's easier.
I don't remember seeing a warning for kids not to fill in forms on a
web page. It seems a strange approach to demand personal information
in order to determine if demanding it was legal. If the kid
exaggerates his age or makes a typo on his DOB, the illegal
information stays on file.
> 2) It's often seen as a harmless piece of information which can be used
> to partially verify a user down the road. Like all things it has been
> way over-used so it's less useful now.
I've often forgotten passwords and never been asked my DOB for
verification. Apparently they require it for some other reason.
These are sites apparently without age restrictions.
> 3) Marketing: Knowing someone's age is very useful when determining
> marketing demographics.
You don't need to know what day people were born to classify them by
age. Some newspapers will let you download an archived item for $3.
For others, the price is to provide personal information, starting
with name and date of birth. Together they form a unique identifier
for most Americans.
If they want this information in leiu of dollars, it must be of value.
How does it profit a newspaper to know the DOB of somebody a thousand
miles away who once read an old article?
A big web company had files of customer information collected under an
assurance of privacy. Another corporation bought them. A judge ruled
that this corporation had the right to sell the personal information on
file. There's a market for the personal information websites collect,
and the result might not be harmless.
Choreboy
Choreboy (choreboyREMOVE@localnet.com)