Thursday, November 27, 2008

My Favorite Things


"Raindrops on roses, whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles, warm woolen mittens. (Seriously??)

No, no, not those favorite things. I'm talking about the security questions your bank or credit union asks you to answer before you can log on. So on the surface they seem reasonable, a good way to prevent unauthorized users into your account, a nice sense of security knowing my bank is trying to thwart identity thieves. But lately I've been locked out of my account so many times because I couldn't answer the security question.

I mean really, who could, when you're asked such inane questions as your "favorite" food, movie, song, book or restaurant? What happened to those old standbys like your mother's maiden name, the name of your pet, the town in which you were born, the high school you attended. Now those answers stand the test of time.

My favorite restaurant? Hmmm. I really like Grand Traverse Pie Company but I go to Paneras a lot. I also like Cosi, Chipotle, and McAllisters. But do they qualify as bonafide restaurants? Maybe I should say Glynn's Inn the fabulous restaurant in Huntington where we dined every week or The Mont D'or who had to die for veal piccata and crisp puffy potatoes that I've never been able to find anywhere else.

How many chances to do I get to answer this question before I'm locked out?

Ok, so let's try favorite book? So do I list the book I'm reading now? My favorite childhood book? The other dozens of books that I say, "Oh, I loved that book."

Movies? No. Songs? Just one? How about a genre like Broadway. But will I remember I said Broadway?

So now I'm getting frustrated. Why don't I get to choose my questions? Not just choose someone else's choices as questions? You know this is only going to get worse as time (read age) goes on.

So maybe the solution is to keep a copy of your answers by the computer and on you at all times in case you forget your favorite things. So do they qualify as "favorite" things anymore? And isn't that a huge breech of security?

1 comment:

Jeanie said...

Ha! I love it! I have the same problem!