I just called in and was advised i can mail, fax, email my social security number.. Anyone with reservations who social security numbers havent been received by February 20 will be canceled ... I could not take that risk with my trip soon approaching.. Hey. i'll worry about the tax issue..next yr...
For now, I don't have to pay anything..
Really guys.. is there anything in life really free....
I can't believe people are providing their SSN to a company over the phone, internet and fax with NO clue as to what the security behind it is.
I would rather cancel my trip than risk my identity being stolen. No offense but you guys are nuts. (and yes I did win and am not providing it as of right now)
I wouldn't recommend it... you could get SERIOUSLY in trouble for knowingly providing false information, especially if it is someone else's social security number.
I wouldn't recommend it... you could get SERIOUSLY in trouble for knowingly providing false information, especially if it is someone else's social security number.
Yeah, don't do that man. I would imagine that falls under tax fraud. Not worth it just for a vacation
you are probably right, that would be lowering myself to LMT's level.
At the end of the day I am exciting about my free hotel room, and will suck it up and pay the income tax. My biggest concern is that LMT won't house my SSN in a secure manner.
This 'promotion' is really going to hurt LMT, people who didn't get a 'free' booking will think they were screwed out of a hotel room. And those of us that did are now getting hit up for tax after the fact. I hope they are still in operation come this time next month when I check into my hotel.
Quote:
Originally Posted by primusux
Yeah, don't do that man. I would imagine that falls under tax fraud. Not worth it just for a vacation
My reservation starts on Feb. 21st--the day after the deadline--and honestly I don't know what to do. I had other opportunities to get cheap hotel rooms in london like hoxtel promo or Lastminute.com 10 pound sale.. I wish I booked a back up reservation
When I called they said you could send it via snail mail if it is post marked by Feb20. Why not call them up and let them know you are mailing it to them? By the time they realize you never sent it you'll already have your free room.
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbvl
My reservation starts on Feb. 21st--the day after the deadline--and honestly I don't know what to do. I had other opportunities to get cheap hotel rooms in london like hoxtel promo or Lastminute.com 10 pound sale.. I wish I booked a back up reservation
So it can be postmarked by Feb. 20? For some reasons, I thought it has to arrive there by Feb. 20, which doesn't make a lot of sense given such a short notice. I'll probably call them up and see what they say. Thanks for the tip!
So it can be postmarked by Feb. 20? For some reasons, I thought it has to arrive there by Feb. 20, which doesn't make a lot of sense given such a short notice. I'll probably call them up and see what they say. Thanks for the tip!
So your going to give a company your SS# when they clearly don't understand online security, you have no idea how they store that information, and who sees it?
I don't get some of you, thinking about mailing it is just as crazy as using that online unsecure form they sent you.
So your going to give a company your SS# when they clearly don't understand online security, you have no idea how they store that information, and who sees it?
I don't get some of you, thinking about mailing it is just as crazy as using that online unsecure form they sent you.
You do realize that figuring out someone's SSN is as easy as, well, a 1 in a thousand guess pretty much. First three digits usually correspond to where you were born. I was born in Maine for example, and my first three digits are 005. (It's organized geographically, think about your first three and where you were born in relation to the entire country. Numbers start at zero in the Northeast, and end in the West). You can look this up on Google and learn people's geographic first 3 numbers.
The second two digits correspond to the year you were born (or when you were issued your SSN number). You can find websites for your state that narrows this down to a certain set of numbers (Now I will be ficticious and say that my middle two digits are 29). Everyone who lived in my area of Maine and is my age will have this (or perhaps a 38 or maybe 17), again, all listed on websites. The last four digits are randomized. Ironically, for many security purposes, you are asked "what are the last four digits of your social security number?" which are the most VALUABLE private digits! If someone has your name (and an address makes it even easier) and the year you were born, boom, your identity will be stolen.
My point being is that I'd much rather just send my SSN number (not via their site, but via any other way, including snail mail)... btw, who is going to randomly open up a letter KNOWING that your SSN number is in there? geesh. Back to point... I'd much rather send LMT my SSN than doing many other forms of business transaction. When you go out to eat, do you ever pay by card? I could have a CC number memorized in about 7 seconds. Add in the expiration date and security code, 10 seconds total, tops. And of course there are millions of other scenarios than just a waiter stealing your CC info (and just skip the whole "my CC protects me", I know, just giving one scenario of how someone can steal).
And this is not just aimed at you chrisgeleven. It's just people, really, come on. Is LMT going to risk everything just to steal some SSN numbers? Is somebody going to hack into LMT and steal the numbers? Doubtful.
My trip is in 9 days and I am not going to let a SSN number scare me. I don't think that we'll have to pay taxes on our trip, and we have 14 months to deal with figuring out if we "bought" a hotel room or "won" a hotel room. I think LMT wants to scare as many people as possible, and I'm sure it's working. I bet 50% of people will cancel their trips.
Just keep an eye on your credit reports. Isn't there a way to do a "Lifelock" for yourself, where if anybody tries to open up credit in your name, you must first be contacted via phone to verify that it is YOU who wants to open up credit?
And lastly, in this economy, who in their right mind is GIVING out credit anymore? Steal my identity, what in the world could you possibly do with it?
Thank you and cheers to all.
Last edited by redsox28; Feb 14, 09 at 8:43 am.
Reason: I had some typos.
You do realize that figuring out someone's SSN is as easy as, well, a 1 in a thousand guess pretty much. First three digits usually correspond to where you were born. I was born in Maine for example, and my first three digits are 005. (It's organized geographically, think about your first three and where you were born in relation to the entire country. Numbers start at zero in the Northeast, and end in the West). You can look this up on Google and learn people's geographic first 3 numbers.
The second two digits correspond to the year you were born (or when you were issued your SSN number). You can find websites for your state that narrows this down to a certain set of numbers (Now I will be ficticious and say that my middle two digits are 29). Everyone who lived in my area of Maine and is my age will have this (or perhaps a 38 or maybe 17), again, all listed on websites. The last four digits are randomized. Ironically, for many security purposes, you are asked "what are the last four digits of your social security number?" which are the most VALUABLE private digits! If someone has your name (and an address makes it even easier) and the year you were born, boom, your identity will be stolen.
My point being is that I'd much rather just send my SSN number (not via their site, but via any other way, including snail mail)... btw, who is going to randomly open up a letter KNOWING that your SSN number is in there? geesh. Back to point... I'd much rather send LMT my SSN than doing many other forms of business transaction. When you go out to eat, do you ever pay by card? I could have a CC number memorized in about 7 seconds. Add in the expiration date and security code, 10 seconds total, tops. And of course there are millions of other scenarios than just a waiter stealing your CC info (and just skip the whole "my CC protects me", I know, just giving one scenario of how someone can steal).
And this is not just aimed at you chrisgeleven. It's just people, really, come on. Is LMT going to risk everything just to steal some SSN numbers? Is somebody going to hack into LMT and steal the numbers? Doubtful.
My trip is in 9 days and I am not going to let a SSN number scare me. I don't think that we'll have to pay taxes on our trip, and we have 14 months to deal with figuring out if we "bought" a hotel room or "won" a hotel room. I think LMT wants to scare as many people as possible, and I'm sure it's working. I bet 50% of people will cancel their trips.
Just keep an eye on your credit reports. Isn't there a way to do a "Lifelock" for yourself, where if anybody tries to open up credit in your name, you must first be contacted via phone to verify that it is YOU who wants to open up credit?
And lastly, in this economy, who in their right mind is GIVING out credit anymore? Steal my identity, what in the world could you possibly do with it?
Thank you and cheers to all.
You sir have no idea how serious identity theft is. My mother's information somehow got stolen from another company (we suspect an old credit card, but aren't 100% sure). Every couple of months, she starts getting calls from loan companies because someone is trying to take out a loan in her name or has already been approved for a loan and they are just trying to get the final ok. This is despite "no one lending" and despite her placing a credit lock on her credit report. It stresses her and the rest of my family out every time this cycle begins because it wastes her time and can cause serious problems with her financial well being.
There are tons of ways someone at LMT can misuse this information.
1) First off there is the unencrypted web site, so any hacker who knows what they are doing can get into the site, install malicious code, and steal everyone's information. All it takes is out-of-date software on the server side for a hole to open for a hacker to do this. Given LMT's performance so far, I have no confidence their web server's software is up-to-date.
2) A disgruntled employee can steal the unencrypted information and sell it to the highest bidder or even use it themselves.
3) Computers that aren't up-to-date at their office can have spyware and/or viruses that give complete control to hackers. They can then copy all of the files on the computer, including your personal information such as your SSN number.
And those are the ways to do it just off the top of my head. LMT's stupidity regarding this 1099 Tax web site is one thing, but it certainly points to other possible internal issues with their systems. And all it takes is one person to bring it all down.
Credit Card #'s can be canceled and reissued. I have had that happen twice in the past year from my bank alone due to data breaches at my local supermarket. Not happy about it, but a non-working CC# ends most of that trouble. It is a lot harder if not close to impossible to do the same with your SSN. Once someone has the magic information and your SSN, your are always on the run, trying to stop people from opening accounts under your name. SSN #'s can be used by illegal immigrants, criminals, etc.
Go ahead, give your SSN number. I gave you enough warning.
I have to agree that this is simply a way for LMT to cut losses from the promo knowing that some people will cancel because they won't give out their SS#, won't pay taxes on their "prize", or they are duplicate or non-US winners.
I held my tongue on my opinion of this promo simply because the whining was overwhelming, and anything "negative" I could have reported would be cause for the villagers to take to the streets with torches and sticks, however...
week 1 I "won" a 4 night stay in Atlanta. Easy enough, if you knew which posts to ignore and which had pertinent information. Week 2, Mr Reeper "wins" 4 nights in Palm Springs in October..but wait, the confirmation says it was for the day the reservations were made (February 4 - one night) instead of the actual dates entered on the computer - and trust me, they were entered correctly. Common sense - what with us being in NJ and not owning a p-jet. CS - no changes, we lose. So, suffice to say I am happy I got my 4 in Atlanta but the mistake was on their part with Palm, I can't prove it, all I can do is whine about it, and I'm not going to. So... would I trust them with my SS? Absolutely not. They will probably make copies of them all with names and addresses included and leave them on a downtown bus. Am I prepared to deal with the aftermath? Absolutely - I have been since the first time I had to put it on a doctors office form, a DMV form, a job application, a store credit card application, a request for utilities, a background check app, a tax form, etc.
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"Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil." -Jerry Garcia
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I hope you guys sue them or the IRS kills them.
