Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Really, Macy's?

So, I went to Macy's the other day, and I got the deal of the century.  Go me.

When I went to check out, I handed the cashier a credit card.

"Would you like to use your Macy's card instead?," she asked.  "Do you have a Macy's card?  Because if you do, you'll get an additional fifteen percent off your purchases today."

"Erm," I said, "I'm not sure if I have a Macy's card or not."  Because I have approximately nine billion customer-loyalty store cards in my wallet.  I'm not sure WHAT-all is rattling around in there.

"Oh!," she said.  "That's okay!  I can check the system for you!  I'll just need your driver's license, please."

I forked it over.  Hell, I get proofed half the time I buy beer.  No biggie.  Most stores can tell if I have a loyalty card just by entering my phone number into the system, but whatever.

"Now," she said, "I'll need you to enter your social security number into the keypad.  Don't worry, I can't see  it."

You know, I went ahead and did it.  And the system determined that I did not, indeed, have a Macy's card, I declined to apply for one right then, and blahblahblah.

And then I got back home and started thinking.

The cashier had had access to one of my credit cards.  (The one I used to pay.)  She had access to my driver's license.  And while she SAID she couldn't see my social when I typed it in, how did I know for sure?  Those stores have mirrors all over the damn place.  And for all I knew, it could have shown up in neon-green on her checkout screen as I entered it.

Talk about the perfect opportunity for identity theft.

I stewed about it for a little bit, then I called the store and talked to a manager.  Who reassured me that, yes, indeed, they needed both a driver's license and my social when checking to see if I have a store card.

WTF, Macy's?  Really?  You need to see more info than my bank required when I applied for a flippin' MORTGAGE?  To see if I have a stupid store card?
That sh*t ain't right.

4 comments:

Becs said...

Scary!

rockygrace said...

Yeah. I did some digging, and evidently they ask for your social even if you're just returning something.

Obviously, the next time they ask, I'm going to refuse. I can't believe I was stupid enough to do it the first time. (That's what SHE said. Ha.)

I hope you're doing okay today, Becs.

Anonymous said...

Soon, there will be a law that places some limits on who can ask for your Social Security number. Unfortunately, a customer-initiated credit card request is a time in which they do need your SS.

- Bridgett

rockygrace said...

Thanks for the heads up, Bridgett. That is nuts.

I mean, nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong by letting some temporary, minimum-wage cashier have access to my driver's license and my SSN, right? Sheesh.