RE: The Last Four Digits of Your Social Security Number

you were born in chicago south side? in december of 1981? I can tell you your exact first 5 digets of your SSN. what about the last 4? well those are random for all intents and purposes, I'd need to guess those. But what if I were to have those 4 digets by hacking into an unsecure database such as one for a game's age verification?

I know that I myself make a very very poor target for Identity theft and so am not personally worried. Does it make the decision to hand out that much easier? Not really. When I get out of college and pay off all my student loans I might truely have something to worry about, and if my big career plans do happen I might be a good target for Identity theft in the next 3-4 years.

It was less than 20 years ago the current rule for Social Security numbers for all under age 2 was made a requirement to be a dependant for tax purposes. Still you have 2 years to get the SSN an a newborn.

Prior to this you didnt need a SS# until you got a job. So .. it is a lil bit more complex than know where someone was born and when,

Youd need to know WHEN and Where the the SS# was requested for the person.

And know how the group number works - my kids (got their SS#'s the same day within minutes of each other - have different group numbers)

As I understand it, someone on another thread tried signing up with bud.tv, which also uses the same verification service, and they didn't ask for any part of their SSN.

However, I'm more worried about what will happen for UK people. Our equivalent of the SSN is the National Insurance Number - but it's explicitly forbidden (maybe even illegal) to use it for verifying identity. It's only used for transfer of tax information. On the other hand, it doesn't break down in the same way a US one does (the last four characters are 3 parts of a serial number and a letter saying in which quarter of each year your records are updated)

The real problem is that no identity verification service whatsoever will prevent an underage user from getting their parents to enter the information so they can play an "online game", while the parents don't know or care to find out what is actually involved. The only real way to do it would be:
a) move all Adult content to a seperate grid;
b) make it public and clearly advertised knowledge that this is an Adult grid;
c) require an initial purchase of L$ to access this grid.
Step b) is the key point. As long as everyone knows it's an Adult service, parents won't sign their children up for it, and if they do, it's clearly their fault.

Yep. And LL has said that they will be asking for the last-4 to age-verify for SL.

Bud may be using the same company but it seems that they're using a different product.

I asume my CC proves that i'm old enought, were im from you dont even have acces to a CC under 18 and without proof of income not to say enough income, dang i had my first CC at 28... so please... let the teens have one of there parents co sign but stop bugging us...if not farewell SL for my part...

So it's an external company, but LL are calling the shots about their processes?

I assume the 3rd-party age verifier has several different products and can maybe customize per-client.

Bud.com doesn't have xcite & sensations so they use a verification product that's a little more trusting.

I'm not. Guess I'll have to leave in Mid-May then. Already had my identity stolen once, don't want to go through that again.

I assuming Aristotle has some choices for what they'd like to use for verification. All LL has to do is check the box that says SS#.

I e-mailed this company and asked for them to affirm that they do not store our information and that we will not be contacted by them. I asked that they give proof of the security of their systems and asked if there was any way to verify age besides providing sensitive info. such as SS#, passport, ID's, etc. I got a response in a matter of hours but my e-mail had been misunderstood, he though I was the "customer", wanted to know who recommended them, and he sent me a copy of their basic contract. I e-mailed back and I hope to see a clearer answer when I get home and can access my home account.

I will say I am not surprised but a bit disheartened that LL hasn't bothered ro respond to any of our concerns about this in the blog, but then again what way do we have of letting them know? I doubt they bother to read this forum. And most of the threads are off the front page now anyway. Once again, HUGE MAJOR ISSUE, cooled off by Monday.

Not providing my SS#, no way, no how! I just hope they don't decide to make all mainland mature regions "adult", if they do I won't be able to get to my land.

Simple: I've had my identity stolen before and I don't want it to happen again. Oh and most if not all of what you mentioned above (depending on the medium used) is all in person and supposedly secure. I assume that some security will be taken to make sure that the SSN number given to a third party is secure, but secure systems can be broken, and I don't run to run the risk of having my savings wiped out again.

There are going to be those that care and those that don't care.

They're requesting all of the information necessary for someone else to act as "me", requesting that I provide it to another company and that I pay to do it.

There is a huge difference between buying something from Lands End and trusting some company that I've never heard of with the exact information needed to steal my identity.

Not even going into the whole concept of directly linking my RL to my AV. Unfortunately, getting criminally charged by some country with animal cruelty for tipping a virtual cow isn't completely out of the realm of possibility.

Honestly, I think this will end in some sort of legal situation. I wouldn't be surprised that one of these SL residents with enough money to sink into a sim or two of their own would decide to challenge this. It will probably end with that since I think LL is on shaky ground with this...as much of a lawyer as I'm not!

But based on the way most SL residents (on these forums anyway) view LL as "the Man" and would love to find a way to stick it to them I think it will only be a matter of time. A lot of people's attitudes baffle me in SL but that's for another thread!

Everything I read makes me believe that I just won't be able to go to ponygirl/BDSM and stuff that I never go to anyway.

No reason for me to verify! My mech suits wear clothes!

When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.

I doubt many lawyers will be interested in this one. LL has made it clear that this is an opt-in deal. If you don't like it, don't sign up for it. If you already have adult content, they have given warning that this is coming and people can cash out if they want.

Ok having said that
- everyone keeps talking about age verification but - look at the blog post, its:

Age and Identity Verification
and Identity Verification
Identity

The more I chat to folks about this and look around at the various posts - the more I am conviced that this has absolutely nothing to do with porn and adult content and absolutely everything to do with building a rock solid database to mine and sell.

Are the people you're talking to wearing tinfoil hats?

For about the 100th time...

If you don't believe them on things like this, you should get away from SL now.

I'm afraid your own tinfoil hat is in place if you believe that this Integrity company won't sell the data.

I have to chuckle at their name too - Integrity. It's like that person you know that is constantly telling you how honest they are - they usually are the one not to trust, because they're overcompensating for a guilty conscience.

Why should we believe LL on "things like this"?

They lied to us before, more than once, most memorably about the breach of their database last fall, when they claimed no data was compromised, only to come back a few weeks later and admit that there was.

So you think that this is a conspiricy to farm data about SL residents?

No, I think that LL is naive if they are positive that this company won't.

I'm pretty uneasy about supplying anyone online with even the last 4 digits of my SS Number. The only places I've ever had to supply this info for, are jobs, my bank, and tax purposes. Most places that require you to give your SS Number only ask for, or actually use, the last 4 digits so what more does an identity thief need?

And coco, I totally agree with your statement. I thought I was already verified. I paid with a cc to play SL, have been in SL almost 2 yrs, never caused any problems, started a business over a year ago; and not to mention LL already knows our real names, location, dob, phone numbers etc, that we provided when we signed up. I think maybe some of us should be grandfathered in. Especially us who provided verification years before the opening of free accounts.

Is all of this actually just making a 3rd rated type of land in SL? PG, Mature, and now X rated? I'm a little confused as to where you will not be allowed if you choose not to verify by SS number. Is it all mature land, or just mature land marked as "adult content"? What a goofy thing....mature land....marked as "adult content" UG! I dont know I think if LL does decide that this is the way to go, you will see a lot more "PG" islands, and of course those who will not check the "adult content" box on their X rated regions, for fear of losing business.

Question: If LL cannot keep up with underage players on the grid now...how are they going to, check every single player's age, go through and remove underage accounts...and keep up with places not properly labeled "adult content"?
Sounds to me they are creating more of a problem for themselves instead of just doing the logical thing, and completely removing free accounts, and weeding out the problems we already have. No matter how hard they try...little Johnny/Jenny Smartie Pants, will get ahold of mom or dad's cc, and SS numbers, and they are right back where they started.

Xaria

Since LL is saying that the 3rd-party company isn't storing the data, you can bet that it says that in their contract. If the 3rd-party is storing the data, that'd be a serious breach of contract and LL could sue their butts off and probably press charges against them.

Lawsuits are after the fact, take a very long time and, despite movies and sensational press stories, rarely work out in a way that actually compensates the individual for all of their loses.

Also - what does "store data" mean? You're transmitting the data to them and they're putting it in a database for some period of time to compare to public records. Based on what I've read most of the people in the US that vote already have a record with this company. If they use this information to update/verify your existing record and add a column or two - is that storing it?

Well, if you trust corporations that much, so be it, but they will not be getting my personal info.

Hardly a day goes by where I don't see some article or news video where some "trustworthy" company got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. So, there is no way in hell this place is getting my last 4. I've already been ripped off once due to identity theft and so has my sister-in-law. In my case, iit took almost half a year and a lot of hard work to get it fixed, and I still have a couple of merchants who claim I owe them for what this person stole using my info.

We, the not so deep pocketed, are the ones who pay the price on this stuff. In most jurisdictions in the US, there are limits to when the police will investigate. In mine, it's 5000 USD, and I didn't qualify because I was only swindled for a couple thousand.

And yes, my info was garnered because of the sloppiness of a corporation, my ex employer.

I know I am off topic now, but I am trying to explain to you why I don't have a lot of faith in corporations when it comes to my personal info.

Ok. Don't get verified.

It's not that I really trust LL or the 3rd-party company, I guess. It's that I don't distrust them any more than I distrust the 97 other places that already have my full SSN. Every bank I've ever had an account at, every place I've ever worked, the RMV, the state, the fed, etc..

Same here, and that's quite enough of a risk for me, not to mention I was swindled because of an employer's ineptitude, so if I can't trust my employer with the info, then I certainly am not going to trust some faceless company just because some person in San Fran, who is sailing on a ship with holes in the hull, says to.