Friday, June 25, 2010

Big Brother?



This is what a local bank wanted for information, in order to open an account. They cited the Patriot Act. Does this worry anyone but me? This is just a checking account!


Information

Hubby
Me
Name



Address



D.O.B.



SSN



Home Phone



Driver’s License #



      Issue date



      Expiration date



Passport #



      Issue date



      Expiration date



Employer Name



      Years at



      Work Phone #



Approximate Net Worth




27 comments:

Trish and Rob MacGregor said...

WHAT?? I find this alarming.

Bonnie Zieman, M.Ed. said...

How invasive and intrusive!! Of course, then they probably try and sell the stats they compile to advertisers...

ellen abbott said...

We recently opened a bank account here in the small town we moved to. they did not ask for passport info or net worth. I don't think they asked for D.O.B. specifically but they did ask for DL and I'm sure took the info off that. Didn't ask for employer info but we opened two accounts, one business and the other personal so they didn't need to ask that. We had to have our DBA (doing business as) to open the business account.

And yes, it does alarm me how much info the government (and other institutions) is gathering on us citizens, especially as one who tries to fly under the radar. And if you have a cell phone, then you can be pinpointed through it's built in GPS anytime the gov't wants to find you.

The Patriot Act was/is a grave incursion into our civil rights.

karen said...

Yeah...what's up with all the questions?
I've become very leery of banks. They have now begun tacking on charges to accounts like never before. Like...bring us your money...leave it in our bank...but if you go under a 250.00 balance we will charge you 15.00. Why should I put my money there if they're just going to take it at their discretion. The bank makes me feel like their doing me a favor by allowing me to put my money in their bank. And it seems the employees of the bank have been advised to treat the customer like they are children. Just me.

Nancy said...

Trish & Rob - It is very alarming.

Bonnie - Or to sell you other services.

ellen - The Patriot Act is scary, very scary.

Maggie - They charge if you go under $250? Geeze! Ours requires $750 to not have a monthly service fee, but not for going under $250. It really is insane. Less than 1% interest for savings. Why use them?

Umā said...

That is faaaarrrr too much information to ask for, in my opinion.

What a bizarre question, when you think about it, "What is your net worth?" I'd fill that one in with the infinity symbol,lol.

Grandmother Mary said...

Yah, I was thinking in response to net worth: "priceless". Lots of that is just none of their business. The Patriot Act wasn't intended to benefit patriots. Where do they get these names?

DJan said...

This doesn't sound right to me. I recently opened a bank account at a local credit union. None of that was required, just the driver's license. If you or any of your family members have been in the military, I highly recommend USAA as a bank. It's been the best I've ever found. We don't have a local bank to go to (which is why the credit union) but everything I need to do is on line, including depositing checks!! Go to usaa.com for more information.

Cheryl Ann said...

Net worth? You've GOT to be kidding! Some of that is just way too much information for any BANK to have! And, may I ask, what information do we get about them? Lies, lies, and more #$%^% lies!

Kathy G said...

I'm sure the new account form was designed by the legal department :-)

I think all you REALLY need is proof of identity and the all-important Social Security number, and maybe something to verify your address.

The net worth information would be passed on to the bank's investment department or its affiliate partner.

I suspect if you got up to leave rather than answering some of the non-essential questions the bank would quickly make them optional, rather than lose your money.

Anonymous said...

I went to one of those new clinics in town that see you 7 days a week. happens i needed some bronchitis relief on a sunday...
when they gave me the stack of forms to fill out i left the SS# blank...what does that have to do with getting some medicine???
Patriot Act??? frightens me.
~victoria~

Sniffles and Smiles said...

That would make me very uncomfortable...think I'd find a different bank! How are you settling into your new home? You've been in my thoughts! ~Janine XO

Pat said...

YOU wanted to open a checking/savings account and THEY wanted your first born. Yeah. Makes sense to me. Jeez. I think it would have been sufficient for just the standard info of name, address, ssn, DL, MAYBE employer, but that's it. Did you walk out and try a different bank?

Leilani Tresise said...

nancy buy a safe =0D this is getting out of hand.. we are controlled only as much as we allow.. its scary Nancy scary

Linda Pendleton said...

Identification, such as driver's licence (which includes DOB) seems to have always been required, along with SS#. When I opened accts, 7 years and 3 years ago, I was not asked for that other info. I personally have been against the Patriot Act since Bush put it into being, and at that time, most ignored my voice against it. I'm also against the government being able to know what books we buy or check out from the library. Big Brother arrived a long time ago. And technology in recent years has even made it more invasive.

Marlene said...

Ok.. This is not right..we opened an new checking account..several years ago and they did not ask any of those passport and net worth or employer questions???? How strange..its almost creepy..I would not sign up with them...

Nancy said...

I did some research and the bank can ask these questions if they think there might be something else going on - i.e. terrorism, money laundering, etc. because of the Patriot Act. It seems this particular account (which is one that we will have with partners) asks these questions because of the type of account it is. (Most of the time you can open an account with two forms of ID, SS#, DOB, address, etc.) After speaking with the banking representative in charge of this account, I think they ask it to sell you more services. The thing that bothers me is that once they have this information, how is it used? Can they assure the client that it will remain confidential? Something else to consider - it is very easy to get this type of information on anyone at anytime. You just have to know how to access it. We are all vulnerable because of so much that is electronic. It is really scary.

Natalie said...

Scary and just plain WRONG!

kenju said...

Why on earth would they need your passport #? or net worth?

Marguerite said...

The Patriot Act is just another thing that we can thank George W. for. Of course, any good hacker can get all of the same information, as well as anyone who wants to pay the $40. fee to various online sites. It is quite scary!

GYPSYWOMAN said...

if bush did it, i'm against it - plain and simple - and the word patriot makes me cringe physically and psychically - and see, i'm already on overload with all this personal info stuff everywhere you go - i remember years ago when some kind of large "everything" kind of chain store opened, in order to check out with any purchase, you were required to give your phone number - even if paying in cash - and i can't tell you how outraged i was at that - and never shopped there again - there is a local cleaners that also requires your home phone number and pre-payment for everything - anyway, i refused to give them a phone number and told them if they wanted my business, they'd just have to get over it -
and they did -

but the whole thing is just so prevalent and pervasive!

ds said...

Alas, I believe it. And the worst of it is, when I go inside the bank to cash a check (drawn on that bank), they require ID. But outside, at the ATM? I could be anyone...

Rob-bear said...

This is all part of the well-identified rise of fascism today, in America, and elsewhere.

Interesting new book, I believe by Martha Nussbaum, spells this rise of fascism post WW2. Hitler lost the war, but won the battle for peoples' minds.

The Patriot Act is just one further step along the road. Big brother is out there, but isn't necessarily the government. Can you say "military-industrial complex"? Sure you can.

Ironically, this battle (and it is a battle) is currently being waged on the streets of Toronto, Canada, where the G20 summit is being held.

CrazyCris said...

I thought most Americans didn't have a passport? What do they do then?

In Europe you can't open a bank account without giving them your national ID (which is a cross between the US SSN but with a photo and more info), which pretty much has all that info on it: DOB, address, parents' names. So I'm used to that part.

The only two I find ridiculous is your employer's name and approx net worth!

Oh, and over here (in most banks I think) we pay a yearly fee for the accounts. Varies from one to the other but mine is 30€ a year. Much more reasonable... The interest rates are lousy though!

Meeko Fabulous said...

Passport number??? Um yea . . . no. Why????

Jayne Martin said...

It's been so many years since I opened my account at what was at the time a small, rural bank, that I can't remember what they asked. But, of course, this was before the Patriot Act. I'm sure now they probably require a cavity search.

California Girl said...

I don't believe you're obligated to provide your SSI# to anyone. Banks want it in case you have an interest bearing account but, other than that. I don't think they can ask your net worth or age either but they also can turn you down. Go to a credit union.

Remember the Huff Post push to "Move Your Money".