Computers, and those who serve them

We all have Verizon cell phones. Brian however has been getting calls with a pre-recorded messages twice a week, "This is Cingular, now AT&T. There is a problem with your wireless account. Please call us back at this 800 number so that we can resolve it."

I called back the number and asked why AT&T was calling my 13-year-old who had a Verizon phone. It took a while to convince her that I wasn't kidding.

"Can you give me your son's phone number?"
I did so.
"That number is not ours."
"That's sort of the point."
"Pardon?"
"Your company is calling him every few days and it is not your phone."
"Well...they must be calling the wrong number."
"Uh huh." (She's catching on!)
Silence.
Me again, "How do we get your computer to stop calling his number?"
"I don't know. I mean, it's just calling a wrong number."
"Yes, but who can tell the computer who makes the calls to stop calling this number?"
She puts me on hold and finally comes back, "Can I have your social security number?"
"Um...no."
"Well, it's the only way I can look up your account."
"None of us have an account with you. If I don't have an account with you, you won't have my social security number in your files, right?"
"Right."
"So giving you my social security number won't allow you to look me up."
"If you don't want to give it to me, you don't have to, but without it I can't look up the account."
"Never mind, I will ask Verizon to change his number so that none of us will ever have to talk to anyone at AT&T again."
"Okay."
"Goodbye."
"Goodbye and thank you for using AT&T. "