# GQ is for factual answers, not WAGs. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 15, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701 "2011-10-15T02:28:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/1 "2011-10-15T02:28:27Z")
I posted [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=627774) asking how those instant verification. What followed was misinformation, WAGs, and refusal to acknowledge that posters didn’t know what the fuck they are talking about. The first few posts: > [@treis](#): > > Sometimes when signing up with a company they allow you to input your online bank login/password, and then they instantly verify that this is your account/you have funds. How does that work? > [@psychonaut](#): > > First, a criminal uses some false pretense to trick you into giving them your online banking credentials. Then they claim to have “verified” your account, when in fact what they have really done (or intend to do) is to use your credentials to transfer money out of your account and into theirs or that of a confederate. > [@treis](#): > > No, these are reputable companies like PayPal or Charles Schwab. > [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > No, they are pretending to be legitimate companies like PayPal or Charles Schwab. No reputable company is going to ask for your login/password for your bank account. > > If you have given out this info, change your password immediately. > [@psychonaut](#): > > Not only that; you should very carefully examine your transaction records for any unauthorized activity, and possibly also contact your bank personally to check if there are any pending transactions which don’t appear in your online statement yet. If there is any unusual activity you should report what happened to the bank immediately. You may not get your money back, since it was almost certainly against your account terms and conditions to disclose your credentials to a third party, but at least they may be able to trace the thieves. Seriously dumbfucks. You were wrong in the first place, and then after I told you that you were wrong, you continued insisting on being wrong. Don’t answer a GQ thread if you don’t know what the fuck you are talking about. It continues: > [@md2000](#): > > Hmmm… > I’ve been on the internet since the early 90’s Netscape and dial-up days, I work with computers and I read a lot about such stuff - this is the first I realized that anyone legitimately did this. Can you imagine the risk/liability if they were hacked? Plus, why would anyone link Paypal to their bank acount? I use a credit card. > > SO I understand FBG and psycho’s collective astonishment. I would certainly NOT trust a third party with this information. This post wrongly asserts that a security risk exists. > [@lazybratsche](#): > > But in this case the third party is your bank\*, which is probably the most trusted institution that any person ever deals with. You give them money, trusting that they will give it back to you at a later date. They own your car and your house, and you trust that they will pass the ownership to you once you give them enough money. Your bank handles every non-cash transaction you do. > > I’m not so worried about handing them a few passwords for my other financial accounts. If they (or a malicious employee) wanted to steal from me, they already have access to all of my money. What they possibly do with my student loan account password that will hurt me? > > Now, I have to trust that they keep the third-party login information as securely as they do their own. Perhaps that’s a stretch. > > \*though Paypal isn’t a bank, and I don’t trust it nearly as much, it provides similar services. > [@md2000](#): > > If you think banks are mystically hack proof or immune to disgruntled employee thefts, … they’re not. > > Basically, this is equivalent to giving someone a blank cheque and trusting them or their employees to fill in the right amount and the correct payee. Again, continuing to assert factually incorrect information after being told how you are wrong. And it continues: > [@Mogle](#): > > Personally I’m having trouble deciding which is worse: > That there are banks that rely on a simple username/password-combo for their online services. > or > That some companies feel the need to set up their systems in such a way that they need the login/pass for your bank account to do business with you.(Unless there is some trick, like the one Frankenstein Monster mentioned, involved somewhere.) > or > That some people think it’s fine to share the login information for their bank account with, well, anyone. > [@treis](#): > > You don’t understand how it works: > > (1) They can’t withdraw/send money using the login information. That is done as a ACH transaction. > > (2) You typically don’t have to give them the information. If you don’t, they make two deposits in your account, and you need to tell them how much they were for. Logging in is just faster. > > (3) Scottrade typically holds more of my net worth than my bank does. Why should I be afraid to give them a password/login? Should I be worried that they will take 100% of my money instead of 75% of it? > > I thought “Fuck off” was strong enough to get rid of the posters who don’t know what they are talking about, but apparently not. And there, it is explained again why this isn’t a security risk. And the next post: > [@leahcim](#): > > Because Scottrade has plenty of internal auditing procedures dealing with the possibility that their own employees are stealing from them. No doubt they have records of which employees have accessed your account, no low-level employee will know your password except on a need-to-know basis (and they won’t need to know for any basic account inquiries) and any internal access to your account will be logged so if there are problems later the guilty party can be tracked down. > > In contrast, a corrupt Scottrade employee is unknown to your bank, and is just like any other random attacker. They have no special ability to monitor his access and track him down if he does anything bad. He can cause a lot more trouble with less potential for repercussions. > > In short, while Scottrade as a whole has similar access to your wealth as your bank does, any individual corrupt employee of scottrade has a lot less access. Apparently I can entrust Scottrade to keep track of my stocks, prevent illicit employee access to my account, and track down any guilty part, but I can’t trust them to keep a god damn password and login secure? If you don’t know what you are talking about shut the fuck up and don’t fucking post in GQ. I haven’t been this pissed about the quality of posts in GQ since that fucking monstrosity of the plane on a treadmill thread. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/2 "2011-10-15T02:41:31Z")
I’m guessing you’re being scammed by someone pretending to be Scottrade, or one of their corrupt employees. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/3 "2011-10-15T02:51:34Z")
Wheat, chaff, etc. I probably wouldn’t let an internet message board upset me that much though. Save the outrage for the government, serial killers, fat people, customer service, and Bigfoot and/or Bigfoot apologists. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/4 "2011-10-15T02:58:02Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m guessing you’re being scammed by someone pretending to be Scottrade, or one of their corrupt employees. I see what you did there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/5 "2011-10-15T02:58:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m guessing you’re being scammed by someone pretending to be Scottrade, or one of their corrupt employees. Stab stab stab stab ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/6 "2011-10-15T03:23:28Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Stab stab stab stab Aw c’mon. You didn’t know someone would do that? ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/7 "2011-10-15T03:39:14Z")
I’m glad to see this thread. Whilst you probably deserved your warning, the mods should definitely have tried to keep the thread on track, and told the people posting speculation and deliberate misinformation to shut up. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/8 "2011-10-15T03:39:47Z")
They may or may not be correct, and I don’t know and I don’t particularly care. I do know the OP acted like an ass. Who the fuckity fuck do you think you are to demand answers to your question like that? Get over yourself already, douchebag. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/9 "2011-10-15T03:41:59Z")
Since it’s not a security risk, why don’t you give me your online banking handle and password? ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/10 "2011-10-15T03:44:10Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > They may or may not be correct, and I don’t know and I don’t particularly care. > > I do know the OP acted like an ass. Who the fuckity fuck do you think you are to demand answers to your question like that? Get over yourself already, douchebag. I didn’t demand an answer to my question. I demanded, if you want to call it that, that the people spouting bullshit fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/11 "2011-10-15T03:46:02Z")
> [@treis](#): > > I didn’t demand an answer to my question. I demanded, if you want to call it that, that the people spouting bullshit fuck off. And rightly received a warning for a blatant rules violation, and should have received another for being an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/12 "2011-10-15T03:49:15Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > And rightly received a warning for a blatant rules violation, and should have received another for being an asshole. Except for the cursing, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what I said. And I don’t think it should have been closed, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/13 "2011-10-15T03:56:18Z")
> [@treis](#): > > Except for the cursing, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with what I said. And I don’t think it should have been closed, for that matter. So, and I’m asking honestly, what exactly **should** mods do when the OP of a thread repeatedly, intentionally breaks a board rule in a thread? ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/14 "2011-10-15T03:57:37Z")
It was closed because you continued to insult the thread participants after the warning was issued. Folks who were honestly trying to help you out, and you dumped all over them. For no good reason. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/15 "2011-10-15T03:58:28Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Since it’s not a security risk, why don’t you give me your online banking handle and password? Well, let’s see. Do you currently hold my retirement stocks, savings, or checking account? If the answer is yes, then sure. If not, then no. ---
**Author:** ![treis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bc79bd/32.png) [@treis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/treis)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/16 "2011-10-15T03:59:46Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > So, and I’m asking honestly, what exactly **should** mods do when the OP of a thread repeatedly, intentionally breaks a board rule in a thread? "Fuck off’ broke the rules. Indirectly asserting that a poster doesn’t know what they are talking about is not against the rules. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/17 "2011-10-15T04:09:46Z")
Just to confirm, Scottrade does allow you to validate funds from your bank by giving Scottrade your bank username and password. The posters who insisted this was a phishing scam are absolutely wrong, and I’d be quite annoyed at that level of persistent ignorance by people answering in GQ too. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/18 "2011-10-15T04:34:31Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > It was closed because you continued to insult the thread participants after the warning was issued. Folks who were honestly trying to help you out, and you dumped all over them. For no good reason. For yes good reason. They were wrong. Did you miss that part? I dunno about you but there’s no reason we should be approving of people just pulling shit out of their asses and passing it off as knowledge. I’m down with the first warning (much as it pains me to admit that fuck off is not always the correct response in any given situation.) but the closing seemed unjustified to me. People couldn’t keep from being wrong, I don’t see how that’s treis’s fault. I think GQ could stand a little more mocking of the morons who don’t understand the question. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/19 "2011-10-15T07:19:52Z")
Oh, my first pitting. Goody! > [@treis](#): > > Seriously dumbfucks. You were wrong in the first place, and then after I told you that you were wrong, Why should we believe you simply because you repeat your rather remarkable assertion? If you post a vague claim about a practice that goes so contrary to common sense, it’s only natural that people are going to be incredulous and suggest a more likely explanation for what you are observing. And yes, phishing _is_ by many orders of magnitude more common than legitimate financial service providers asking for your credentials for that of another financial service provider. Since the latter practice apparently actually exists in spite of its obvious dumbfuckery, perhaps what you should have done is provided some evidence for it instead of merely gainsaying posters who were trying to help you. > [@](#): > > you continued insisting on being wrong. Don’t be disingenuous. Once you failed to do us the courtesy of proving your claims yourself, I did so, posted the result of my research, and then admitted that you were right after all. I would have even apologized to you but for the fact that you told me to fuck off. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2011, 8:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701/20 "2011-10-15T08:04:36Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > And yes, phishing _is_ by many orders of magnitude more common than legitimate financial service providers asking for your credentials for that of another financial service provider. You have the wrong idea. Scottrade will allow direct transfers from your bank to your Scottrade account. You will have to verify that you are indeed the owner of the bank account. One (not required) way to validate that information quickly is to provide the correct login and password for said bank. Another way is to have Scottrade make two small deposits into the bank account, after which you log into the Scottrade account and correctly type the value of those two deposits. They’re not asking for your login info, but rather making the option available for rapid verification. In any case, you were wrong, and frustratingly persistent in your wrongness. You did your small part to taint the purity of GQ. I wouldn’t have reacted as strongly as treis did, but there you go. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gq-is-for-factual-answers-not-wags/599701.md?page=2)