Hacker News Reader

Not for the iPhone itself, but for the account with AT&T or Verizon.

They don't really need the SSN. If they press for it, tell them you're on a visa and you haven't been assigned one. Verizon entered 123-45-678 for mine and it let them create the account :P

Be prepared to put up a $400 security deposit if you have no credit/ssn

I got that with AT&T, not Verizon though.

That is... odd. I'm pretty sure that was an exception, not the rule. You must have caught the customer service rep on a good day :)

But they don't match the chrome wheels on your cadilac esplanade!

Drug dealers are fashion victims too

They're probably on Tracphones or similar pay-as-you-go phones.

Those are pay as you go services are they not? The reason they are asking for an SSN is so they can do a credit check.