Advice on a Prepaid Credit Card

hey guys, my friends and I wanted to buy some airsoft guns online, so, we just took the cash we had, went to CVS, and bought a green dot credit card with 270 dollars on it. What we didn't realize, is that we need a social security number to activate it, and none of us feel ssecure enough to actually link our SS# to this card. Does anyone have any ideas on what I can do? CVS doesn't have to accept it as a return item, and it's 270 dollars.

You could sell it, or just use your SSN, nothing is going to happen.

You could always activate it using your SSN number... roll

For real, use your SSN. Federal law requires them to ask for it, and GreenDot is a reputable company. You can't do ANY type of banking without an SSN.

Green dots reputable? That's all I wanted to hear. liSighli
I'm just paranoid because after this thing at hollywood video, two people in my family have had their identities stolen. Well, I'm using my ssn.

[quote38c75fbd7a="Tsmith10803"]Green dots reputable? That's all I wanted to hear. liSighli
I'm just paranoid because after this thing at hollywood video, two people in my family have had their identities stolen. Well, I'm using my ssn.[/quote38c75fbd7a]
Yes, they're reputable. I opened a Citi Prepaid account (run by Green Dot) to load money on for when my daughter went out of town on school trips & stuff so she didn't have to carry cash, and so I could load more on it in case of emergency rather than try to wire her cash. Never had a problem. Green Dot cards and reload packs are available in many stores and would not be as popular as they are if they were disreputable. My only gripe is that you can't reload them entirely online -- you have to go to a physical store and buy the reload pack, then take it home and key the code into your account info online. It would be so much easier if they'd just accept a bank transfer online and be done with it.

As far as identity theft, it can happen with less than your SSN. And if somebody really wants your SSN, it's surprisingly easy to get anyway. In this electronic information age, identity theft is a fact of life, a risk of conducting any sort of business. Yes you should take reasonable precautions, but the fact of the matter is that you cannot do much if any business in the real world -- especially financial business -- without sharing your SSN and other personal info. You can't rent an apartment, get insurance, open a bank account (of any kind, even savings), get a job, get phone/cable/utility service, or any number of other real-world things without giving out your SSN.

[quoteeca7b9614b="dmorris68"]For real, use your SSN. Federal law requires them to ask for it, and GreenDot is a reputable company. You can't do ANY type of banking without an SSN.[/quoteeca7b9614b]

what dmorris says is what has to happen, so verify your SSN already... D

Next time get a vanilla visa if you're worried about giving out your info. You don't have to associate yourself with it at all.

[quote7537020f92="Chrscott22"]Next time get a vanilla visa if you're worried about giving out your info. You don't have to associate yourself with it at all.[/quote7537020f92]
But that's just a giftcard. Not a reloadable debit card like a Green Dot card. And not associated with your address and therefore won't pass a verification check with most mail-order vendors. The Green Dot cards I got for my daughter to use has our names embossed on them like a regular credit/debit card.