Am I legally obligated to give the credit card company my cell number?
Received an email today from American Express, telling me that my cell phone number was missing, even though they have my home phone and my work phone numbers. (I have had that account for 30 years, probably, and there was no such thing as a cell phone when I opened it.)
Am I legally required to enter it?
I really don’t want to – it’s another data point that can be stolen if they are hacked. And in 30 years they have never called either of my other phone numbers. If there is something important, they can email me.
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I agree with you; but, don’t you understand that email is in the process of following the use of snail mail. The argument I received was that they will only be held accountable IF they can notify you immediately with a text in order to warn you faster & give you a much faster response time. I have my home phone transferred to my cell but the text won’t go through that way. I’ve been so protective of my cell number that my Mom didn’t have it for the first 5 years after I got it!!! In order to prove their point, they blocked me from my account & the ONLY way I could access it was to have a special code sent via text. They claimed they weren’t set up to email it. It’s just another scare tactic to force you into line. The truth is that they already know your cell number but can’t use it until you provide it to them!!! IF you look at your credit report line by line, they have obtained it from a 3rd party source. I don’t think that there is a legal responsibility…yet; however, it is coming sooner than later!!!
The other option, of course, is to either make up a number, or maybe enter the phone number that my parents had when I was 11 years old.
They use it to contact you if they think your credit card number was used fraudulently. I been called !
Here is the conversation.
AMEX – - Mister Tropical_Willie are you in control of your AMEX card?
Me – - Yes.
AMEX – - Are you in Rome Italy?
Me – No.
AMEX – - We just refused charges of $385 for railroad tickets in Rome.
Bottom line was that by the time I got back home (I was grocery shopping) I had another call, AMEX cancelled my card because three more attempts were made to use the card. They “overnighted” my replacement card.
They also may want it to provide two layer authentication.
“Legally obligated” is not really the germane question. American express is not “legally obligated” to keep you as a customer. There are entities that I won’t trust to not abuse my cell number, but some I do trust, such as my bank.
My other thought, too, @zenvelo. You can withhold anything you want, and they can also withhold granting you a credit card, or they can cancel it if they deem fit, and you would have little to stand on.
I would had used my cell phone and called the American Express number that is “on the back of
your card” (just to make sure that it really was American Express calling and not a scammer).
How does anyone know if what that email stated was TRUE and NOT a scammer.
If next time this happens, call the number on the back of your card not the one that they give in the email ,if they did give ?
I can’t imagine there is anything legal requiring your cell phone number. It doesn’t make any sense. There are still plenty of people who don’t use cell phones.
I think it’s good to give it to them though. My aunts credit card company texted me when someone was fraudulently using her credit card. I was her POA and she didn’t use a cell phone.
You are not legally obligated by anyone to have or to reveal a cell phone number.
But a company could contractually require that as a condition for some sort of relationship with them. I don’t think that credit card companies have sunk to the level of actually requiring such as a condition of having an account with them. I would call them and ask them, and/or call my lawyer and ask hum how I should respond.
If the email is legit, you could give it to them, then just let it go to voicemail. You don’t have to pick up on every call you get.
I’ve given my cell number to a couple of financial institutions. To date, they have never called me but have sent texts notifying me of withdrawals & deposits. I didn’t notice any increased SPAM activity after giving them my number unlike I do after adding a new app on my phone!!!
if you give a number, they might send you a text saying confirm you got this text, or something with a code in it that you enter on the application, so they can ensure you didn’t give them a false number.
They could also demand you supply a number (and then confirm it), so if you don’t, then no credit card for you.
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