Best Buy & Geek Squad Policies

[parkerthon]

A DL# is actually up there with social security number as one of the accepted id verification checks on the web. Example: Signing up for checking your credit score they optionally asked me for my DL# as part of the ID verification check, although it wasn't the only piece of information they required. Same could be said of SS#'s these days. Generally speaking, full blown identity theft happens when thieves connect together several stolen sources of information to build a full profile of targets which they plan to impersonate. My DL# right beside my name/address would prove useful under those circumstances.

[parkerthon]

And, again, I can't emphasize enough how best buy asking for this information is total overkill. Worse still is how they proxy it through TRE and ultimately their systems clearly have problems with this current implementation anyway which casts further doubt on whether they did their duediligence with thinking this through. Frankly it's not worth the chance, however slim, that someone in the ukraine grabs a partial copy of the TRE DB unbeknownst to anyone and cross references it with another source of information. That filtered list with my name on it is sold underground to the mob or some other criminal ring stateside and quickly leveraged. At which point I would easily spend 6 months+ cleaning up the mess even if caught the breach early. All because best buy believes their interests in thwarting a small percentage of fraudsters is more important than protecting their customers' identity information.

[Nytwyng]

Crystal, if you "still don't get how your name and state and dl number is sensitive info," then you won't mind posting it here, right?

[CrimsonRain]

A public internet forum is hardly a secure database.

[TechSavvyChick]

Here is what I find interesting ..." A DL# is actually up there with social security number as one of the accepted id verification checks on the web. Example: Signing up for checking your credit score they optionally asked me for my DL# as part of the ID verification check, although it wasn't the only piece of information they required."
I am assuming that you have done this in the past, correct? I assume this because it seems you have posted it as it is fact. Now, I can't fully disagree with you on this because, although I haven't seen it been done myself that doesn't mean that it's not done.
My question to you is, why would you feel secure divulging information for your credit report and not elsewhere? Everything is electronic now a days and your info will be stored that way. Just because you might be giving your info to a reputable company doesn't mean it is safe. This holds true for Best Buy too.
I guess my "beef" isn't that you choose not give your info to BBY but, that you admittedly give your info to others yet complain about giving it to Best Buy.
And I know what you might say, there is no "reason" for BBY to have my info. Well the simple fact is that there is a reason. To track habits. Do I think the system itself needs improvement, yes. I don't deny this. However, for tracking purposes its pretty simple and easy for them to scan a DL. This is how they differentiate you from others.
And although I quoted you parkerthon, it's not solely directed towards you.

[parkerthon]

My issue isn't with divuldging that information period, it's with having to give that information up to get a price match or to return a sealed DVD I bought on my credit card. Retrieving something as important and sensitive as my credit report understandably requires I give up some information to prove my identity. It's a question of where you feel the line should be drawn. Frankly I believe Best Buy/TRE blew right past it without really thinking about it. Walmart has a similar system, but they don't swipe your DL for just about any return type transaction you run through them, they only do it for no-receipt cash returns which is a fringe situation. I keep my receipts, I buy things on credit cards(aka unique info), and I return things that are sealed. Why should I or others jump through these extraordinary hoops when we're good, nay, great customers that have plenty of other choices that don't require such extreme measures? I feel like best buy dumped this one on the customer with a quick and dirty implementation of an anti-fraud system that ultimately is overreaching and poorly thought out. I get it, IT departments I consult are cost centers that require an ROI and sometimes they rush things to make sure executives signing their checks know they're getting something for the seemingly huge capital expenditure, but that can back fire if it's not fully planned out. Case and point, TRE.

[TechSavvyChick]

I absolutely agree that their system isn't perfect and it can defiantly have room for improvement. For me, I guess I just don't see scanning a DL is that big of a deal. And from the way it sounds, you would freely hand yours over as well if the products you were returning were open.

[Nytwyng]

But, CrimsonRain, Crystal "doesn't get how your name and state and dl number is sensitive info." If it's not sensitive info, then does it even require a secure database? On the other hand, if she's uncomfortable just handing that information out on a public forum, then logic suggests that she does, in fact, get how your name and state and dl number is sensitive info

[parkerthon]

Well as a matter of fact I freely handed over my license for returns and price adjustments to best buy already which is how I ended up on the infamous 90-day return ban list in the first place despite not being an abuser of any sort. It doesn't worry me THAT much that they collect this information, but it's certainly a compromise of my principles in regards to businesses asking paying customers to fork over private information to help them ultimately make more money. I understand the larger goal of thwarting truly fraudulent abusers, "lower" prices, and hiring more people. My cynical side says those are some pretty tough metrics to validate though which is why my overall take on this system is A) intentionally or not, it hoses good customers B) its incredibly arbitrary in a manner that makes the customer feel like its being shoved down their throat and C) it needlessly collects and stores unique personal information. You have to admit it's a pretty flippant policy in a market Best Buy is slowly losing to other competitors. For me personally, this was just the motivation I needed to pony up for on an Amazon Prime account. I'm sure Best Buy's knee jerk reaction to be more competitive is to decrease costs, but there's a line they shouldn't cross. Just like you don't pat customers down leaving the store to help control shrink, you shouldn't overanalyze and control their return habits by collecting their driver's license, passport, etc. They should make things more convenient, not less, if they want to compete.

[CrystalWoW Community Veteran]

Hand over my name to a group of people who routinely wish me harm, regularly insult me, and otherwise treat me quite poorly, yeah right. Not saying in this particular thread but I wouldn't put my name on here, just as much as I wouldn't post my phone number for an extra dose of harassment as I only wish to be contacted through the forums by people from the forums. I don't see how a name and a dl number and a state could hurt something. So say someone did hack TRE's database. So they have a bunch of dl numbers. The point is that I am aware that my information is out there, just like everyone elses is. I routinely provide my drivers license when I go to the bank (heck they even took a photo copy to change my name recently), at liquor stores in my area, at any club in our area or bar, my storage unit, for my tanning membership, when I got my fishing license last year, at the local gas station who insists you must show ID with purchase on a debit card even knowing they could be fined (lol), my college any time I need assistance with something, and last but not least, every time I pay my power bill in person. It is swiped everywhere except the last three and I honestly could care less. Best Buy is not the only one that asks for id. They don't magically get access to my social or my credit card numbers or something. It has been stated on here that the fields on the screen are dl number and state and that is it so they wouldn't even have my birthday or name. This would then require some hacking of what, the dmv system?? to continue stealing my identity. I suppose I haven't worked up the need for a tinfoil hat yet so I just couldn't bother myself enough to care. If you aren't going to trust TRE, does it then turn in to, I have to pay cash everywhere so they don't store my credit card number in the system, and I can't have a drivers license at all or ID because the state stores it, or heck when I have my kid I can't get them a birth certificate because they would be in the SYSTEM!!!!!