Receiving THIS in my yahoo inbox this morning sent me on an unexpected, early, yet short-lived euphoria trip; well before my usual peak time of around 2pm.
Perusing this seemingly inclusive, attractive offer to qualify for the National Handicapping Championship was what I though initially a fantastic idea. IF you want to read a professional journalist’s take on this, go HERE --registration required. My man (and one of my favorite columnists) Dave Tuley breaks it down in a far more succinct manner than my verbose mind ever could. Keep in mind, the guys who sign his pay checks are the ones in charge of the contest.
So I spent some time reading the rules and format of this tournament and all was well until I clicked on "purchase entry". Keep in mind, there aren’t that many folks who fit in to the demo that the NTRA is looking for to buck up $100 at a time for a chance to qualify for the NHC in Vegas next January. But here's my gripe and where I decide to NOT participate no matter how much it hurts.
If you click on "purchase entry" you will no doubt notice that the DRF (as sponsor) has asked that we enter our SOCIAL SECURITY # in order to register. Are you kidding me? There may be some semi-good reason that the DRF/NHC wants my SS#, but I am certainly not entering it online!! I don't even do that for my bank or my credit card company!! In fact, I am already registered on drf.com to purchase PP's and I am not asked there.
So I ask, WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE SS#? I think it's presumptuous and unacceptable to ask for someone's SS# online unless you are the government or a substantial financial institute (and the latter better have a good reason).
With all of the boneheads running IT security and hackers working 24/7 there is no way you are getting my SS#. Dave T...Tell me what's up man? I know you visit Avg Horseplayer sometimes, give me some kind of decent answer to this nonsense. Should you not be able to give me a solid, legitimate answer then please pass along my sentiment and discomfort with such a seemingly inappropriate, unnecessary personal information request.
Maybe I am just paranoid, but at this point I have no desire to enter my SS# on a website. At this point, I'll just keep my $300 and tout elsewhere.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
Yeah, I feel the same way. I don't hand out my ss#, online or otherwise, unless there is a good reason.
Perhaps they need it if you take down the big prize, but it's easy enough to get it just from the winner and not everyone who enters.
Good to know I am not the only insane one when it comes to this!
Agree. Never hand out SSN. Unless you need to get a W2-G.
But what I find interesting is the $100 entry fee. I competed a couple of years ago, but for $100 I received two days at the track, first class trackside comfort of the Champions room at Lone Star Park, lunch, breakfast, cash bar, and personal parimutuel clerks that I could also use for my not-so-mythical wagers on the races. It was actually a very fun event. But I sure wouldn't pay $100 to sit in my underwear in my living room in front of the PC while doing a couple of loads of laundry during the competition. Pfft!
I think Brad has it right, what's the point unless they pay you something.
I see there's a checkbox at the bottom accompanied by this text:
"I authorize Equifax Secure, Inc. to access my credit report to authenticate my identity and facilitate the processing of this application for this account."
Why they need to authenticate your identity via a credit agency when (one assumes) you've paid the entry fee with a credit card and provided a valid billing address and phone number makes no sense -- this definitely seems sketchy. No way I'd provide the SSN for this contest.
And here's the thing. DRF already as all of my billing information for PP's and Formulator. NOW they need my SS# AND a free pass to use Equifax?
I need answers and will be hitting up Dave Tuley first to see if there is some explanation or better person to ask.
Post a Comment