Sunday, February 7, 2010 — As you know, I enjoy learning about our ancestory, history and even carry it into my view of television.
I was watching a DVD collection of “The Price Is Right” recently and something shocking happened.
No, it wasn’t the episode where the excited new contestant’s top fell down.
It happened much earlier than that.
This episode was from the early days of the show, back in the late ‘50s or early ‘60s.
Way before Drew Carey and Bob Barker there was another host, Bill Cullen.
During this particular episode the husband of one of the contestants was an employee with the Social Security Administration.
So, naturally, Bill proceeds to give out his Social Security number on the show.
You read that right. He gave out his Social Security number.
Well, it’s possible that he gave out a fake number, right?
Now most people won’t give out much of their information over the phone, not to mention on television for the whole country to see.
But if you think about it, televisions weren’t in every room of the house then, as they might be today. We didn’t have personal computers, so there was no risk of computer hackers breaking into your bank account or a Social Security record.
We also didn’t have VCRs to record the show, or DVRs or DVDs as we do today, to quickly run back the part, listen to the number again and write it down.
Then you go back to the computer and search for the Social Security Death Index on the Internet, type in the name Bill Cullen or William Cullen, and it reveals the Social Security number he gave out to the audience.
Yet it still is shocking to think that he would give out something that personal on TV.
Scams are all around us in 2010. We have already had reports of scammers trying to get money or vital information from people within the county.
One local organization is working to help this problem. The Stanly County Extension and Community Associa-tion will have a workshop at 7 p.m. March 4 at the Stanly County Agri-Civic Center.
The guest speaker will be Tom Bartholomy, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of the Southern Piedmont.
Bartholomy will discuss lottery scams; e-mail scams such as one about the U.S. Census Bureau; financial scams that include credit repair, debt consolidation and foreclosure prevention; scams targeting the unemployed; work at home scams; charity scams; and others.
The seminar is free and everyone is encouraged to attend and learn ways to not become a victim.
One easy way is to not go on a game show and reveal your Social Security number.
Thanks, Bill.
And who says you can’t learn anything from watching television?
B. J. Drye is managing editor of The Stanly News and Press. Write him at P.O. Box 488, Albemarle, NC 28002. E-mail snaponline25@yahoo.com.
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