Re: Radio ShackŪ policy invites Identity Theft

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 19:33:27 -0700, Dean Arthur
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

>"Guy P. Distaffen" wrote:
>> 
>> Interesting....
>> 
>> "Dean Arthur" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>> > No SSN required for cash jobs.
>> 
>>     ???  You don't pay taxes?
>> 
>> > I don't use banks - so no SSN requirement there.
>> >
>> > Travel by recumbent - ditto!
>> >
>> > Sublet - ditto!
>> 
>>     How do you have pay for your Internet access?
>
>CASH!! or have you forgotten that most company's prefer it.

Wellll...That's a kinda, sorta, maybe, could be thing.
It's really a matter of scale and no, most companies no longer perfer
cash.  Small businesses? Yes, but not the larger ones. Cash for
anything larger than a "mom-and-Pop" operation is an enormous
inconvenience.  Then you have the risk of making night deposits.  Get
robbed and it's only your word as to how much was taken. Plus more
than a few such reported roberies have been faked.  Then again, it's
unlikely the cash is going to be covered by insurrance without a lot
of paper work and even then it's only the persons word.

First, any cash transaction with a business or bank of more than
several hundred dollars is supposed to be reported to the government
as it's suspicious (money laundering among other little items brought
that little problem about)

If I travel much, a car, or minivan is far too slow, then it's either
commercial aviation, or fly my own plane.
Paying cash for an airline ticket sets off alarms and  is is a really
good way to gurantee the next clothest thing to a good physical while
you wait, and wait, and wait...  Now, flying my own 4 passenger plane?
It does take gas and it doesn't take long of flying into strange
airports and paying for $200 worth of gas in cash to raise flags.
Even though a small plane is not capable of carying much in weight
they have been a thing of suspicion for the unknowing general public.
Rent a car?  Credit card and drivers license... I know of one guy
where I used to work who was able to rent without a credit card, but
he really had to hunt and it took a big security deposit.  the company
finally told him to use the company credit card or else. 

If I were to take a long vacation I certainly  wouldn't want to take
enough cash to support the whole trip.  All I'd need is to have the
wrong person see me peel off a 20 to pay for gas, or groceries.
Certainly a person can be more discrete and use a money belt.  I know
one guy who always carried over $20,000 to the big fly-in at Oshkosh.
If he needed cash it was a trip to the Port-O-Pottie where he could
peel off a couple hundred without being seen.  Had it been me I'd have
always slept with my pants on.

Yes, my ISP would be willing to take cash as will the corner gas
station, BUT a single credit card, plus checking account is much
safer, more secure, and costs me nothing as long as I keep it paid up.

If I were to get robbed and reported some one stold $200 or $300 in
cash, let alone enough for a trip, the police would probably have me
as the prime suspect.  If I'm robbed, they get $20 and my credit card
it only causes me an inconvenience and maybe $50.  However if
purchases sho up that are not typical of my purchasing habbits the
phone will be ringing by the time I get home to question the purchase.
I know that for sure as it's happened. 

Yes a person can get by using cash only, but not most of society could
not and maintain their standard of living.  It takes 5 minutes to pay
the monthly bills.  Some are automatically taken out of my pension
check at the bank.  If I did everything in cash it'd take me most of a
day and probably 50 to 75 miles of driving.  Cash only for me and most
of the people I know would be a severe inconvenience and take a lot of
time out of already busy lives.

You'll have to fix the return add due to dumb virus checkers, not spam
Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair?)
www.rogerhalstead.com