I need your name, birthday, social security number, and everything else you know about yourself

I've just called my credit card companies, to make sure that they won't shut my accounts down for fradulent charges when I start using them in Ireland. My Integra card was easy. I just called and chatted with the lady, told her where I was going, when I'd be back, and they registered it in their system. My Visa/Capital One card, however, was something like a smallish nightmare. I called to activate my new card and get a PIN number, and then asked the guy about flagging my account for foreign travel.

He said he'd transfer me.

Which he did.

To the wrong person, of course.

So, after being on hold for close to 15 minutes, I finally got to talk to a man, who asked me everything in the world about myself, including my mother's maiden name, before he would let me do anything with my card. So, thanks, Capital One, for keeping me safe. But when I told him what my concern was, he gave me yet another number to call. Which I have to call every 28 days while I'm gone, or my account will get blocked. Thanks also, Capital One, for the hassle. Ah well. Regardless, both of my credit cards are now ready for international travel!