back to article AT&T: 'twas conniving contractors who nicked your info

AT&T is warning customers that their personal information might have been breached as part of a scheme to unlock and resell devices. The company said in a filing to the California Attorney General's office that employees at an unnamed service provider it works with had accessed the personal data of customers including social …

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  1. Terry Cloth
    WTF?

    ...is a phone company doing with SSNs?

    Nobody gets my SSN but the IRS and my employer.

    1. John McCallum
      FAIL

      Re: ...is a phone company doing with SSNs?

      T.G. that we in the UK don't rely on our National Insurance No.for unique ID the way that the USA does their SSN's.Why does a telephone company realy need it?

    2. Gannon (J.) Dick

      Re: ...is a phone company doing with SSNs?

      ... the ATT Man Behind The Curtain(tm) needed it, because the Apple MBTC(patent pending) had it first.

    3. Joseph Lord

      Re: ...is a phone company doing with SSNs?

      Given how many companies you may work for in a career even with those limitations it is hard to consider such a number a secret. Better to treat as only an identifier with no authentication value.

      Identity theft doesn't exist, identity fraud gets committed against banks and other financial organisations. Identity theft is a meme to shift the blame and the victim.

      1. edge_e
        Thumb Up

        @Joseph Lord

        Is it ok if I use that?

    4. J__M__M

      Re: ...is a phone company doing with SSNs?

      Nobody gets my SSN but the IRS and my employer...

      Yeah, you say that now. After your parents kick you out you might be signing a different tune...

  2. This post has been deleted by its author

  3. ecofeco Silver badge

    Bullcrap

    Total lying bullcrap.

    It's their fault. Period.

    1. Tom 35

      Re: Bullcrap

      Why are they making people jump through hoops to unlock a paid for phone. They should just need enough info to identify the phone. Should not require any personal info at all.

  4. earl grey
    FAIL

    Waiting for the prosecution to start

    Oh wait, then we would have to REALLY own up to somebody fouling up.

  5. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

    "and is offering to pick up the tab for one year of credit-monitoring services, least the social security numbers be used to register unauthorized charge accounts."

    Only a year? What if that data doesn't happen to magically explode in a puff of smoke after 12 months and the criminals use it or sell it on? Or is it accepted by the careless companies that any criminal use of that data after 12 months can safely be argued to have come from somewhere else and not land at their door?

  6. earl grey
    Flame

    I have never understood

    Why local utilities think they have any right to ask for SSN when that information has nothing whatsoever to do with providing simple services and you're not talking about large contracts. In many states they are specifically prohibited from demanding such prior to providing services or as a condition of providing services.

    A pox on their houses.

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