My wife's parents live in Indonesia, and we live in the USA. We buy at least one phone card per month to call overseas. We are accustomed to lies and excess fees as being part of the animal that allows scrupulous foreigners to use the American system to make money by baiting clients in and then charging them double, with no recourse available to the buyer. But that is not the topic of this report.
I called these folks and, after waiting on hold for an hour, the operator required my social security number to verify my credit card payment from the online order. I have never before been asked for my social security number when making an internet or phone purchase using a credit card, and I have made over 1,000 such transactions.
From the perspective of the merchant who accepts credit cards, of which I am aware in my own business, there is no reason in the world for a merchant to need any information about you, other than your billing address, credit card numbers, expiration and 3-digit verification code. They do not need your phone number, email address, social security number, blood type, religious preference or anything else, in order to process a charge.
This company is up to something, and in this age of identity theft and unauthorized credit card charges, this report is a word to the wise. Avoid tel3advantage.com and SaveOnPrepaid.com. Beware of any merchant that asks for more information than what your credit card company says they have a right to know, because if you give a merchant more than they need, you are part of the problem contributing to identity theft. Happy new year.
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