Quote:
Originally Posted by mersey70
Of course, as do VM I have seen the credit search on my file (and payment history)
I assume that's how they verified my identity which is fine.
What I meant though is I would fully expect them and all ISP's to verify all applicants details as it could be a kid or an alias otherwise.
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You'd be surprised who performs checks on you using credit reference agencies. It's another way of checking your identity against the electoral roll* for one thing. If you have access to your credit report and, for example, you use a comparison website to get multiple quotes for car insurance, each of the insurance companies who provide a quote will show up as having looked you up with the credit reference agency, even if you were not going ahead with their quote or you were intending to pay up front in full. They are verifying your address and using statistical data, among other things, to decide your premium.
*No need to reply with "I choose to be disenfranchised, I don't register to vote, so there!" as the electoral roll is just one of many sources of information used by these agencies.
---------- Post added at 11:15 ---------- Previous post was at 10:15 ----------
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
You know what - I can't point to a case involving an individual with a single box. Doesn't mean to say it doesn't happen though. Actually I think it's unlikely that an individual brought to court would go to jail unless they were a repeat offender. More likely they would get a fine. But they would still have a criminal record for fraud, which is unlikely to be helpful for any future job they might apply for.
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Personally I am a firm believer in the "no demand, no supply" policy. If you stringently prosecute a few end users of these "services" and impose large fines, custodial sentences (suspended or immediate) and long-term restrictions on them it should put others off risking it. Obviously, such prosecutions may cost a lot and may not guarantee a conviction but a few high-profile, well publicised cases would be enough to stem the demand.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris
The police and VM are always more likely to go after the big boys. As with drugs busts, if you take out the dealers you take out more of the problem in one go than you would by taking out the individual junkies on the street corners. But the individuals on the street corners are still law-breaking junkies. And junkies do still get done for possession when the boys in blue find them.
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I think even the US Government are realising that, where the drug trade is concerned, they have to attack the demand problem at home as much as the supply problem abroad. In the case of cocaine, you are not trying to make examples out of the "street corner junky" but high-end users in the media, finance and law industries who have a lot to lose if they are prosecuted.