I recently made a purchase from Circuit City, it was for under $100 dollars. And I saw this message at the “Thank You for your purchase” screen.

I can’t imagine why but for some reason Circuit City wants to know the last 4 digits of my SSN. They claim its to identify me and expedite my order. I guess my Name, Mailing Address, Billing Address, Phone Number, Email Address and Credit Card number isn’t enough to identify me. There is no chance in hell I would give Circuit City or any other business (except a financial institution) my social security number.

You should always question when a company wants to know any personal information about you. Don’t just hand it over. Just think of the security questions you get asked when calling your bank or credit card company. Whats your birthday? Mothers maiden name? Name of your first pet? Last 4 digits of your social? Some of this information can be found in public record and the rest right from Facebook. Well almost, hopefully your social security number is listed on Facebook.

All I am saying is be careful who you give your information too and what information you give them. Keep a list of places that have your information and what information they might have. This way you will know what was leaked when the company reports that it “lost” a laptop with your information on it.