4 ms·

I got this message last night. I started the process to reissue the cards, but I was immediately asked to provide my social security number. Privacy.com already

I got this message last night. I started the process to reissue the cards, but I was immediately asked to provide my social security number. Privacy.com already has my bank account number and routing details, but TBH I'm not super comfortable providing even more personal info such as my SSN. Privacy.com has been an amazing service, and although I'll likely cave to their request for my SSN, I'm not all that happy about it.

chaikasumu 5y ago
Maybe it's because you have your funding source as your bank account, but I was never asked to provide my SSN with a debit card funding source.
- chuckdotis 5y ago
  > Maybe it's because you have your funding source as your bank account I originally had it tied to a debit card, but for some reason Privacy.com forced me to provide a bank account about a year after I started it. I asked support why and they couldn't give me a good answer other than my credit union is no longer supported (though I think the agent I spoke with was blowing smoke and it might have had something to do with my always-on VPN). Have you been asked to provide an SSN with the latest change?
regulatorynerd 5y ago
Hi -- I'm the head of legal and compliance for Privacy.com. Unfortunately this is a bank partner requirement, otherwise we wouldn't ask. We do take customer privacy and security very seriously, and have worked hard to have similar data security safeguards as larger companies like Square and Stripe (both places I've worked, so I would know!). You can read more about some of our security practices here. https://privacy.com/security https://privacy.com/security
- chuckdotis 5y ago
  Hey, thanks for the response! Does this apply to both the linking of a bank account (ie account number w/ routing number) and linking a debit card? Thanks for responding to these questions. Very much appreciated.
  - regulatorynerd 5y ago
    Yes, it should be funding source agnostic. Anyone moving to the new card types will be prompted to provide their SSN.
- danr4 5y ago
  What if i'm not a US citizen? don't have a SSN...
  - leephillips 5y ago
    “Unfortunately we cannot support international bank accounts or non-US users at this time.” https://privacy.com/virtual-card https://privacy.com/virtual-card
    - danr4 5y ago
      But I already have a Privacy account... with many cards... am I just completely screwed?
llaolleh 5y ago
It's a little ironic that privacy.com is asking for your SSN lol.
- chuckdotis 5y ago
  Yeah, a bit. Despite that, I still perceive them as a good barrier (and defense) between my personal financial account and random online businesses whom I would very much like to not provide any personal info whatsoever. An example is wanting to buy a LOSSLESS album from Bandcamp, I can use Privacy and I don't even need to give the musician or Bandcamp my real name or actual financial details.
  - skinnymuch 5y ago
    I was under the assumption you never need to give your real name when using a debit or credit card. Zip code and the number of the address like 7 for "7 Main St" are required usually.
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  Privacy.com is to firewall you from service providers, not the government. There is no way around KYC/AML if you’re operating legally.
  - nucleardog 5y ago
    I’m not American. I opened a U.S. bank account with a major U.S. bank (I.e., presumed to be operating legally) without a SSN or US address. I have no other US identification or number. There is no way around know your customer, but that doesn’t mean “requires SSN”. That’s just the easiest path from point A to point B and most businesses don’t care to support anything else.
    - toomuchtodo 5y ago
      I wouldn't say it's the easiest path, but a critical path. A social security number is usually required to provide identity resolution confidence (name, birth date, and address are insufficient). Don't take my word for it, that's straight from the Internal Revenue Service's Privacy Impact Assessment for it's ID.me identity proofing partner [1]. [1] https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pia/id-me-pia.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pia/id-me-pia.pdf (Pages 2-3)
aaomidi 5y ago
If it makes you feel better, your SSN is dumped into thousands of leaks already, most likely.
- chuckdotis 5y ago
  > If it makes you feel better, your SSN is dumped into thousands of leaks already, most likely. Actually, this reminder does make me feel slightly better about giving my SSN to Privacy.com.
  - aaomidi 5y ago
    Yeah at this point I assume my SSN is more of a UID username that isn't just fully-public, but I need to monitor credit and be pro-active about it, rather than some secret value.

chaikasumu 5y ago

Maybe it's because you have your funding source as your bank account, but I was never asked to provide my SSN with a debit card funding source.

chuckdotis 5y ago
> Maybe it's because you have your funding source as your bank account I originally had it tied to a debit card, but for some reason Privacy.com forced me to provide a bank account about a year after I started it. I asked support why and they couldn't give me a good answer other than my credit union is no longer supported (though I think the agent I spoke with was blowing smoke and it might have had something to do with my always-on VPN). Have you been asked to provide an SSN with the latest change?

regulatorynerd 5y ago

Hi -- I'm the head of legal and compliance for Privacy.com. Unfortunately this is a bank partner requirement, otherwise we wouldn't ask. We do take customer privacy and security very seriously, and have worked hard to have similar data security safeguards as larger companies like Square and Stripe (both places I've worked, so I would know!). You can read more about some of our security practices here. https://privacy.com/security https://privacy.com/security

chuckdotis 5y ago
Hey, thanks for the response! Does this apply to both the linking of a bank account (ie account number w/ routing number) and linking a debit card? Thanks for responding to these questions. Very much appreciated.
- regulatorynerd 5y ago
  Yes, it should be funding source agnostic. Anyone moving to the new card types will be prompted to provide their SSN.
danr4 5y ago
What if i'm not a US citizen? don't have a SSN...
- leephillips 5y ago
  “Unfortunately we cannot support international bank accounts or non-US users at this time.” https://privacy.com/virtual-card https://privacy.com/virtual-card
  - danr4 5y ago
    But I already have a Privacy account... with many cards... am I just completely screwed?

llaolleh 5y ago

It's a little ironic that privacy.com is asking for your SSN lol.

chuckdotis 5y ago
Yeah, a bit. Despite that, I still perceive them as a good barrier (and defense) between my personal financial account and random online businesses whom I would very much like to not provide any personal info whatsoever. An example is wanting to buy a LOSSLESS album from Bandcamp, I can use Privacy and I don't even need to give the musician or Bandcamp my real name or actual financial details.
- skinnymuch 5y ago
  I was under the assumption you never need to give your real name when using a debit or credit card. Zip code and the number of the address like 7 for "7 Main St" are required usually.
toomuchtodo 5y ago
Privacy.com is to firewall you from service providers, not the government. There is no way around KYC/AML if you’re operating legally.
- nucleardog 5y ago
  I’m not American. I opened a U.S. bank account with a major U.S. bank (I.e., presumed to be operating legally) without a SSN or US address. I have no other US identification or number. There is no way around know your customer, but that doesn’t mean “requires SSN”. That’s just the easiest path from point A to point B and most businesses don’t care to support anything else.
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    I wouldn't say it's the easiest path, but a critical path. A social security number is usually required to provide identity resolution confidence (name, birth date, and address are insufficient). Don't take my word for it, that's straight from the Internal Revenue Service's Privacy Impact Assessment for it's ID.me identity proofing partner [1]. [1] https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pia/id-me-pia.pdf https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pia/id-me-pia.pdf (Pages 2-3)

aaomidi 5y ago

If it makes you feel better, your SSN is dumped into thousands of leaks already, most likely.

chuckdotis 5y ago
> If it makes you feel better, your SSN is dumped into thousands of leaks already, most likely. Actually, this reminder does make me feel slightly better about giving my SSN to Privacy.com.
- aaomidi 5y ago
  Yeah at this point I assume my SSN is more of a UID username that isn't just fully-public, but I need to monitor credit and be pro-active about it, rather than some secret value.