Fribble
Credit Card Companies Want You!
By Doctorrico (doctorrico@yahoo.com)
April 23, 2001
When I was in high school, I went to my first and only Star Trek Convention at the Penta Hotel. Even though I was only fourteen, I was already sensitive to the social stigma attached to being a "Trekkie," and even more importantly, aware of how companies use convention mailing lists to produce pounds of unwanted junk mail.
I guess that's why I signed up under the pseudonym "Gary Seven," a name I took from an episode of the original Star Trek series.
My family and I had a good laugh the next year when Gary Seven received at my home address an invitation to that year's convention. And for years it was a family joke; my parents would call me at college to let me know that Gary Seven had received more mail, usually about magazine subscriptions, book clubs, etc.
This year, about fifteen years after I went to that convention, Gary Seven received a pre-approved credit card with a $10,000 limit. This despite the fact that he has never had any earnings nor paid any taxes, doesn't have a Social Security number, and has never purchased anything. He doesn't exist.
They're really desperate for business, aren't they?
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