Wells Fargo effectively kicks me from online banking

[M A V I C]

They implemented a new security feature of requiring customers to answer security questions. Nothing new there, but the questions they ask are all rather obscure and full of assumptions.

Out of the 21 questions, there's only about four or five I have answers to. They are divided up into three sections, allowing users to select from seven questions per choice. Unfortunately, the questions I can answer are not in all three sections. In other words, some of the groups of questions I have no answers to.

Sure I could come up with bogus answers, but I already have enough real information in my head I don't want to start having to remember bogus stuff. "What was the name of your first roommate in college?" Well, I didn't have roommates in college. But maybe I'll invent a fantasy past that includes that.

[GGD]

[quote M A V I C] "What was the name of your first roommate in college?"
Morgan Fairchild, Yeah, that's the ticket.

[deckeda]

We have a bank kind of like that too. At the risk of divulging my personal information here, I think I have an image of a sandwich I need to verify before I can get in. Or something like that. Now, if they allowed me to upload my own sandwich image, then we'd really have something.

[OWC Jamie]

doesnotapply must be hard to remember

[M A V I C]

[quote billb]doesnotapply must be hard to remember
Yeah, but then I have to remember which question I selected. Plus having to remember this for so many sites is getting tough. I've got a dozen bank accounts...

[incognegro]

A dozen bank acounts? may i ask why, without sounding nosey or anything?

[macphanatic]

money laundering of course.

[$tevie]

These web sites all use basically the same questions. Make up three factoids about yourself and write them down and use them again and again. First pet = Spotty. HS mascot = Spotty. Mother's maiden name = Spotty. Boom done.

Not to mention, I have like a zillion bank accounts myself and if you do forget the answers, they have ways for you to get in anyhow.

[raz]

I find the notes field in keychain access quite useful for this kind of thing

[karsen]

Give 1Password a try. You can keep track of all that information in one place and it can even sync between computers.