Social Disease

I hate it when bank employees ask, usually in hushed voice: What is your social?

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It’s as if, by not asking directly out loud, “What is your Social Security Number?” -that they think this is going prevent a security breach of some sort, from lurkers in the lobby. I noticed this phenomenon starting several years ago, not only with banks, but with other businesses privileged to examine vast amounts of your personal information. It’s like a hive-mind mentality all started at once, unless perhaps some high-level bank manager came down with a decree years ago, with the mindset to ask for ‘your social’ in this peculiar manner, would might exempt them from identity-theft liabilities.

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It would be interesting to chat with a few folks in the banking industry about this, and to get their takes on it.