Credit card, social security number required for iPhone 3G purchase

Posted by conspiracygirl
8 July 2008 @ 10am

Screw them! If Apple does not want my business, who am I to force something they don’t want upon them…? I won’t bother converting to Apple with my new desktop either.

Posted by wiggums1
8 July 2008 @ 11am

What are you 12? Last time I bought a cellphone, regardless of manufacturer and carrier, in order to get subsidized pricing, you needed a two year contract. Nothing is different here. Also, what does getting an apple desktop have to do with the Iphone?

Posted by Bluzulu
8 July 2008 @ 2pm

Sounds a little Big Brotherish to us! Next they’ll be implanting a chip into these Apple Cult Followers heads.

Posted by hhhhhhhhhmmmmmm
8 July 2008 @ 2pm

wiggums1,

She maybe 12 but you are acting like a idiot. Let us go to the apple website. Oh look,

* Credit card
* Social security number
* Valid government-issued photo ID
* Current wireless account number and password or PIN (if you’re new to AT&T)
So, you do not need the credit card number, social security number, and valid government-issued id only to get the service, but YOU NEED THEM TO JUST BUY THE PHONE. Which means the if you are going to just walk in and just want to buy the phone, with out the service, then you still need a CC, SSN, and ID.

This is to stop the resale and exploiting we saw in the first release. People where buying the phone with cash and then saling them online for 4 or 5 times the price. This is not only stupid but just asking for a data hack.

Posted by jlussow
8 July 2008 @ 3pm

I needed my credit card, SSN and ID to buy my Nextel. Why is this a story? Can anyone walk into any phone store and walk out with a subsidized phone without any ID? Is that even possible? I’ve needed that info since I bought my first phone in 1983. What is the big deal?

Posted by stanley0301
8 July 2008 @ 4pm

What I am seeing is that (1) you can’t give it as a gift. And (2) once you own the thing you can’t sell it. I know you can’t sell your wife–but your phone??? Why on earth not? You certainly can sell your computer. If someone were to, what in legal terms is called Become a holder in due course, (buy one from somebody), I would think you would have every right to use the thing, no different that had you bought it from Apple–the nearest store is almost a hundred miles from where we live. And it all really doesn’t matter because, given two weeks the hackers will have it working just fine. Once again Apple has–screwed it up. It is a funny company that has its first allegiance to its suppliers–and regards its customers as a crop for them to harvest.

Posted by wiggums1
8 July 2008 @ 5pm

hhhhhhhhhmmmmmm,

please, by the time you purchase your phone, it’s yesterday’s news. When i purchased my AT&T (then cingular) i do recall being asked for all that info, and yes verizon and sprint did as well. There is still nothing from stopping you from selling it. If you want another carrier, please, by all means, by another phone. THis big brother stuff is retarded.

Posted by shurup1
8 July 2008 @ 8pm

Ok this is what happend for me, i was buying my first cell/IPHONE. I did not have a credit card, i bought w/cash before they changed this, they sold it to me. I did not even know i had to use my sss# . I called Att and everyone {5 ppl} were happy for me but re-directed me to Apple . I thought the put your sss# might be a scam or somthing so i put in a real crazy nu# but that was crazy too because i could Not then sign up for “contract ” after all this i was given option of GO-Iphone. So see how things were back in the day! I since tried to work with Att over this issue but can`t get past GO !with anyone at Att , sooo please beware. Now i want to use the iphone to get a credit rating but because i have insufficient credit history i can`t !Good GOD CAN anyone help me……….I have faith that i can get past these difficulties i now have a Debit card will that work? All this because the info just was NOT out there last yr 2007 .Do i need a lawyer to get an iphone?

Posted by E550
9 July 2008 @ 9am

Does this mean, if I already have an iphone and I want to upgrade to the new G3, I will have to give SS# even though I already have an account with ATT? All I want to do is disconnect my current iphone and activate the newly purchased G3.

Posted by MacAdict4Life
9 July 2008 @ 11am

If you are in CA they cannot require a SSN to provide service, as they are not allowed to run a credit check. Furthermore than cannot require any personal information (SSN, zip, etc) to complete a transaction.

Posted by chashulme_dotmac
9 July 2008 @ 2pm

From the Social Security Administration:

“If a business or other enterprise asks you for your number, you can refuse to give it. However, that may mean doing without the purchase or service for which your number was requested.”

Anyone who doesn’t wish to divulge their SSN to purchase a 3G iPhone should ask Apple (or AT&T) if an alternate method can be used. But if you *do* plan to comply, you may wish to have your number written on a piece of paper, which you can then take back and destroy. Because of the importance of your SSN, and because it’s your tax id, the last thing you may wish to do is to say it aloud in a crowded line of strangers (with big ears).

Oh, and two points to shurup1… I assume your message is that it’s not a good idea to lie on an application. And also, spell-checker and a careful proofread may well be the prescription for you… ;-)