if you need the password to help with a tech support issue, that's understandable. good of you not to send it via email, too.
i don't really like it being used for initial identity verification. i don't like people automatically looking it up, and i was surprised that they wanted it in the first place. i'm not worried about wire taps, crossed lines, or even about people accidentally picking up a signal from a portable phone (which i wasn't using anyway). the thing is that sometimes, when i call tech support, there are other people in the room or in earshot.
the other problem (which just popped to mind now) is that if someone were to somehow steal my password, that person would not only have access to my email and login, but would also be able to call customer service and make changes to my account. not that that's likely to happen to me, specifically, but we're talking about a general company policy here which applies to all users.
Paul
