2600 Magazine_ The Hacker Quarterly - Digital Edition - Summer 2011 - 2600 Magazine [3]
Lesson 3: If more than one person is working on this, coordinate efforts. It is possible now that they realize that the address was changed online, they may shut off the card. Let's hope not.
Lesson 4: Use technology when you can.
Then came Discover. With either mom's full SSN or the last four (can't remember which), and her mailing address, I was able to change her address and phone number strictly through the automated voice recognition system. I never had to talk to a person, and it took about 3-5 minutes tops.
Lesson 5: Close your Discover account - their security absolutely sucks.
Chase was the most important card. It had the highest credit limit, the most recent renewal, and the most penetration. Unfortunately, my mom will probably expire before the card does. It was also among the most instructive.
When I phoned, things seemed to go very well. I called them first, and I thought the whole project was going to be a breeze. Then they asked me for the POA papers. Having them scanned in, I asked where to email them. I was told they had to be faxed. I got the fax number, and then asked when they would be in the system. They told me "two hours." I was fine with that, as I had to be up that long anyway.
Lesson 6: Work within the system.
Three hours later, I called, and was directed to a supervisor, who told me that he couldn't help me. I told him that I had faxed the papers in. He told me that he saw that, and saw them, but that they had to be mailed. This wasn't acceptable to me for a few reasons. First, why would they give me a fax number if faxing the POA papers in wasn't acceptable? Second, there was no guarantee that the papers wouldn't get lost, and draw out the process. Third, we were trying to qualify my mom for Medicaid by the end of the year. Had we not done so, she would be on hook for another month of private pay at the nursing home at about $7,000 a month. Had we qualified her and not resolved the credit card situation before, she may not have been able to keep her credit. Needless to say, I was not happy, and let the supervisor know as much. I asked to speak to his supervisor, and was told he didn't have a supervisor.
Lesson 7: Don't believe everything that everyone tells you.
I called back the next morning, got a representative on the phone, and did with ease what I should have been able to do the night before. The POA papers were there, but I had to prove that I was the AIF. The woman figured that I should know my maternal grandmother's maiden name. I didn't. I had never thought about that, as she was dead long before I was an idea. Not having my grandmother's maiden name was a show stopper. Then, the woman on the phone gave me the hint I needed. She told me the first letter. It was the first letter of some cousins’ last names. There are other places that name shows up too, but for me to say it in this magazine would open us up to identity theft, so I can't go there.
Lesson 8: Ask your mom what her mother's maiden name is.
Lesson 9: Social engineering works. The woman had pity on me to give me that hint, which opened the door.
With my grandmother's maiden name, the woman at Chase decided I was the AIF, and I was allowed to change the address, phone, and activate the new card. I also had the representative lodge a complaint against the "supervisor" that wasn't really a supervisor (see lesson 7).
So now my mom has an emergency credit bank that we can use that should last at least through the next few years.
* * *
ASAT for Dumbasses: Part Two - Detecting and Tracking Stealth Satellites
by spynuclear@yahoo.com | 812 words
This is a continuation of “Anti-satellite