Story Archive

Can You Identify Yourself?

While doing the paperwork at a car dealership in West Palm Beach, Fla., to buy a Fiat, Marci Robin says the sales rep put one extra piece of paper in front of her. It was the printed out “reCaptcha” as often seen online. He wanted her to use a pen to check the box to confirm that she is “not a robot.” Robin, a magazine writer, was fairly incredulous, but the rep was serious. “He handed me that page — with literally nothing else on it — and just matter of factly said, ‘And this one is just to ensure you’re not a robot’,” she says. She took a photo to document the request. A dealer employee confirms it’s “common practice” to get customers to check the box. On the other hand, the sales rep said even if she was a robot, he’d sell it a car “if it had a social security number and an ID.” (RC/Tampa Bay Times) ...But only if it could check the box.