carib, western union and your ssn

blueedwards · Feb 4, 2004

i have been at carib for about a year and don't really use them much. i funded my account a year ago via neteller and lost the balance. today, i saw some favorable lines on their site and decided to send to money to my account. my neteller is dry so, i sent via western union.

when i called back into carib with the control number, they asked for the last 4 digits of my ssn. i asked "what for"? they said "security reasons". to which i replied, "well, western union does not have my ssn and neither do you so, how can you verify that the number i give you is correct?" they replied "we have a procedure to verify it".

well, i refused to give it to them because i know they don't have it and neither does western union. they will still process my deposit but "it will not be expedited".

does this sound weird to anybody?

HacheMan · Feb 4, 2004

Regular thing with me blue......I questioned it also in the beginning, but have since not thought much about it....

blueedwards · Feb 4, 2004

hache, do you see my point? they are asking to verify info with no way of verifying it. so, you are really just giving up your ssn for no reason. that doesn't seem smart and i will not do it.

by the way, my account was credited with my deposit in about 20 minutes so, i'm not sure how much faster it would have been done if i had given up my ssn.

awesomeagain · Feb 4, 2004

that is really strange...why the hell would they ask for the last for digits if they don't know your ssn is????

...blue--you should demand to know what their so called "procedure to verify it " is

blueedwards · Feb 4, 2004

they would not tell me. she just kept repeating herself, "it is our policy...we have a procedure...". maybe i'm being paranoid but, can they being working with the feds?

no way in hell i am giving up my ssn. the thing is, they processed the deposit just fine without it.

didn't give me a great feeling and i will probably cash out tonight, assuming my two hockey plays come in (philly under 5.5 & minnesota under 5).

spidermonkey · Feb 4, 2004

from what i understand, if someone has your name/address, which i would guess you gave carib when you signed up, AND the last four digits of your SS#, then they can get rest of the digits.

awesomeagain · Feb 4, 2004

spider-that is not true...there is no way for them to get the rest of your ssn with just the last 4 digits...i can tell you this--i work in an industry where pulling credit reports is part of the job and you can pull someones credit report by just knowing their address and name--once you pull their credit you then have access to their ssn because it will be on the credit report--but if they are pulling peoples credit reports without premission then that's not good!!...THAT'S A BIG TIME NO NO!!!

blueedwards · Feb 4, 2004

spider...that is my point exactly. they do have my address, they do not have my ssn and i will not let them.

Phaedrus · Feb 4, 2004

posted by awesomeagain:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>
spider-that is not true...there is no way for them to get the rest of your ssn with just the last 4 digits...
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That's true, but the first five digits are extremely easy to obtain with even basic personal information about a person. That is why I had my little tirade over Neteller when they stopped asking for SS#s and "only" wanted the last four digits ... basically just asking for the four that they cannot easily obtain on their own, thus giving the user a false sense of privacy.

Same deal with Carib in this case, it seems. Frankly if a book asks you for the first five, last four, or the third, fourth and seventh digit of your SS# you should tell them to piss up a rope and take your money elsewhere.

Phaedrus

WEEKENDALKI · Feb 4, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by blue edwards:
spider...that is my point exactly. they do have my address, they do not have my ssn and i will not let them.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Smart move. these sportsbooks do not need to use ss #'s to identify us. Don't they realize that we play off-shore to avoid bullshit like this?

blueedwards · Feb 4, 2004

turns out...a cash out will not be necessary. they have my cash, but not my vitals.

oldmantime · Feb 4, 2004

Did I read that Carib's owner was charged with something to do with running the sportsbook from the States (Ohio)???
I know that some famous hockey player was reported to have lost 6 figures to Carib.
Who knows what is behind this last 4 digits business. The story about the owner sorta died out very suspiciously.

bulldog77 · Feb 4, 2004

OMT:
I saw something about that in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette several months ago. I think the owner's name was Rogers and Jamir Jagr was the
player. Sorry I don't remember much more than that or how it came out.

jam · Feb 5, 2004

Carib can go to hell... and any other book that intrusive to one's privacy. I hope those losers go under.

Skyweasel · Feb 5, 2004

tax purposes. It can't be used as an ID number for general business. Even the credit card companies doing is basically against the law but they have lobbying clout so no one will do anything about it.

Another business that uses these is healthcare insurance, another fraudulent use and attempt to number and track you for policing purposes.

Give Carib a false #. If they can "derive the rest of it" from a false #, they wouldn't need you to give them one, they'd just pull your ssn out of the ether like Houdini. But don't give them anything real, that would be foolish.

blueedwards · Feb 5, 2004

i gave them nothing and guess what...they took my deposit anyway.

Blutarsky · Feb 5, 2004

Each state has numbers assigned to people who were born in their respective states. Usually the first three #'s. So if a book or criminal can infer that the state you play from is also the state you were born,then they can narrow down your number to 1 in a 100.The middle two numbers 00 thru 99 would be all an identity thief would need to get your full SS# if they knew your last four digits.

buddyboy · Feb 5, 2004

it's not 1 in 100 it's 1 in 1000.

so if they had your last 4 it would be 1000 X 100 or a 1 in 100,000 chance of guessing correctly... not the best way to do it.

there are much easier ways to get a ssn.

anyway why would carib work with the feds? trying to put a list together of gamblers that includes ssn's? The feds would just need your address they don't need carib to track it down for them.

blueedwards · Feb 5, 2004

why would carib work with the feds? i don't know why they would. i don't know that they are...that is speculation.

why would carib ask for the last 4 of my ssn, claiming they need it to verify my western union transfer when neither western union or carib has my ssn? that is the question.

blueedwards · Feb 5, 2004

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote">quote:<HR>Originally posted by buddyboy:

there are much easier ways to get a ssn.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

yeah, they can just ask the players for it. and, i'm sure some people don't even think about giving it up.