From: jamesh@netcom.com (James Hightower)
Date: Wed, 24 Aug 94 10:17:25 PDT
To: hart@chaos.bsu.edu (Jim Hart)
Subject: Re: Credit cards, false names, and important details
In-Reply-To: <199408231625.LAA10386@chaos.bsu.edu>
Message-ID: <199408241717.KAA14059@netcom17.netcom.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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App. this didn't make it out to the list the first time.
Sorry if you get this twice!

Jim Hart> 
> Duncan Frissel:
> > The many people who have gotten anonymous Visa and Mastercard credit cards
> > for example have used the simple scheme of applying for a secured credit
> > card in a nome de guerre.  
> 
> How is this simple?   A credit card company sure as hell wants
> to known who you truly are and where you truly live.  It must
> be able to collect its debt and mark your credit rating.
> Applying for a credit card with false name or Social Security 
> number is fraud, with heavy punishments.  Or are there, yet 
> again, numerous details you are neglecting to mention?
> 
 I called Dave Lovejoy, a longtime credit manager and currently product
line manager for Data Rental's line of credit retrieval terminals. He confirmed
for me what I had always understood; with _secured_ credit cards, no one
really cares who you are, as you have secured your card with a cash
deposit (typically 110% of your limit) and collection is no problem.

I have no idea as to the legalities of all this.

BTW Data Rentals is one of the major suppliers of credit retrieval equipment
to credit grantors, marketing towards the small-to-medium sized operations
(that is, those who don't buy their reports directly from the bureaus on tape.)
I wrote the software for their DRS-2000 automated credit terminal, as well
as their credit cartridge for the TI 700 printing terminal.


JJH
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