I was looking over their 3rd party payment system, and was rather
bothered that they want my date of birth. None of their business, I
thought; identity theft is an issue, so I really don't want to give out
information they don't actually need to process a transaction

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

<http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/>

Scott wrote:
> I was looking over their 3rd party payment system, and was rather
> bothered that they want my date of birth. None of their business, I
> thought; identity theft is an issue, so I really don't want to give out
> information they don't actually need to process a transaction
>


I registered with no problems a month or 2 ago. It showed up as a
$13.55 charge on my VISA card.

Bob

Scott > wrote:

>I was looking over their 3rd party payment system, and was rather
>bothered that they want my date of birth. None of their business, I
>thought; identity theft is an issue, so I really don't want to give out
>information they don't actually need to process a transaction
>
>--
>to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"
>
><http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/>
Same as zvxcbob - I registered and paid with no problems. I like them
- they don't carry the less desireable groups, but I'm not interested
in them. They are fast, reliable and complete. Enough said. I'm
tired of chasing free news servers. I've found a new newsgroup home.
And if they F*** up my Visa card, I'll get it fixed as I have in the
past. Yes, identity theft is a problem and I deal with it on a
regular basis in my employment. This is a miniscule risk in my
opinion. And as far as the birthdate - LIE, like eveyone else does,
and move on, man. And use an alternate credit card with a $500 limit
like I did, and what I use for almost ALL internet transactions. YES,
you can request this - I promise. If nothing else, it will make you
sleep better and numb your paranoia. If it alll falls apart you're
only liable for $500. If this is too much, then you probably should
stay away from internet purchases altogether.

"Scott" > wrote in message
...

> I was looking over their 3rd party payment system,
> and was rather bothered that they want my date of
> birth. None of their business, I thought; identity theft
> is an issue, so I really don't want to give out information
> they don't actually need to process a transaction

It's a reputable company, with a world-wide presence. The transaction
didn't tip my risk threshold, and I'm mildly paranoid about releasing
information. We're not talking about a company like PayPal, which has
incredibly poor business practices.

If you don't want to use them to pay for news.individual.net, I seem
to recall there's a pay-by-check option ...
-j

jacqui{JB} wrote:

> If you don't want to use them to pay for news.individual.net, I seem
> to recall there's a pay-by-check option ...
> -j

My ISP cancelled rec.travel.caribbean, then a week later they cancelled
rec.nude. I subscribed to individual.net so I could get all of my
newsgroups. I paid through my checking account.

Becca

Becca > wrote:

>jacqui{JB} wrote:
>
>> If you don't want to use them to pay for news.individual.net, I seem
>> to recall there's a pay-by-check option ...
>> -j
>
>My ISP cancelled rec.travel.caribbean, then a week later they cancelled
>rec.nude. I subscribed to individual.net so I could get all of my
>newsgroups. I paid through my checking account.
>
>Becca
>
The one thing I DON'T like about nin is that it's group list is pretty
limited. I can't even get to some fairly high profile Micro$oft
groups.

"AlleyGator" > wrote in message
...

> The one thing I DON'T like about nin is that
> it's group list is pretty limited. I can't even get
> to some fairly high profile Micro$oft groups.

Well, they don't do binaries and won't do alt.sex.* groups; I
understand, however, that if you write and ask them to add a group,
they'll do so. Have you tried?

I've been meaning to ask them to add alt.cookies.yum.yum.yum.
-j

In article >,
(AlleyGator) wrote:

> Same as zvxcbob - I registered and paid with no problems. I like them
> - they don't carry the less desireable groups, but I'm not interested
> in them. They are fast, reliable and complete. Enough said. I'm
> tired of chasing free news servers. I've found a new newsgroup home.
> And if they F*** up my Visa card, I'll get it fixed as I have in the
> past. Yes, identity theft is a problem and I deal with it on a
> regular basis in my employment. This is a miniscule risk in my
> opinion. And as far as the birthdate - LIE, like eveyone else does,
> and move on, man. And use an alternate credit card with a $500 limit
> like I did, and what I use for almost ALL internet transactions. YES,
> you can request this - I promise. If nothing else, it will make you
> sleep better and numb your paranoia. If it alll falls apart you're
> only liable for $500. If this is too much, then you probably should
> stay away from internet purchases altogether.

I've been using them for a while now--my ISP's news server is terrible.
That's why I was looking to sign up with them.

I had one credit card number stolen already, from Internet use--and I
don't have any $500 limit ones.

But you're missing the point. My real concern is not fraudulent use of
my credit card; it's fraudulent use of my identity, which is far, far
more serious and far, far more difficult to fix. I don't see any need to
give them my date of birth in order to make a 10 euro purchase.

--
to respond (OT only), change "spamless.invalid" to "optonline.net"

<http://www.thecoffeefaq.com/>

Scott > wrote:
>But you're missing the point. My real concern is not fraudulent use of
>my credit card; it's fraudulent use of my identity, which is far, far
>more serious and far, far more difficult to fix. I don't see any need to
>give them my date of birth in order to make a 10 euro purchase.
I probably DID miss the point in my response, Scott<G> - but not in my
own brain, which you wouldn't want to read if you could. I'm really
sorry to hear abt the ID theft - that can become a nightmare, I am
sure. The point I AM making is - I lied about my BD. Outright lied,
and it all worked out anyway. No, they DON'T need that info,
obviously, or the transaction wouldn't have worked. Lie - simple as
that.

Scott > wrote:
BTW, if it makes you feel better, I only lied a little. They still
have me down to the correct month and year. Try it that way if you
feel uncomfortable with the lie.

In article >, "jacqui{JB}" > wrote:
>"Scott" > wrote in message
...
>
>> I was looking over their 3rd party payment system,
>> and was rather bothered that they want my date of
>> birth. None of their business, I thought; identity theft
>> is an issue, so I really don't want to give out information
>> they don't actually need to process a transaction
>
>It's a reputable company, with a world-wide presence. The transaction
>didn't tip my risk threshold, and I'm mildly paranoid about releasing
>information. We're not talking about a company like PayPal, which has
>incredibly poor business practices.
>
>If you don't want to use them to pay for news.individual.net, I seem
>to recall there's a pay-by-check option ...

The e-mail I recently received from them says they will now accept
payment by bank transfer -- but you have to pay *all* the fees of the
transaction or they won't accept the payment.

Also, someone mentioned low limit credit cards as a means of
protection, but that may give a false sense of security. I don't know
about you Yanks, but here in Oz it seems the credit limit is a
notional thing which can be exceeded at a cost to the user! (Bit like
an overdraft where there's a penalty rate for going over your limit.)

Cheers, Phred.

--
LID