A reader tip suggests you can get a better deal on a cellphone by being an immigrant.

Purchase your cellphone and plan over the phone and inform them you don’t have a Social Security number.

Apparently, this grants you the power of a better credit rating, and… no early termination fee if you cancel.

Our reader did this with Sprint, at the customer service reps’s prompting, and his letter is inside. — BEN POPKEN

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“I was recently looking for a wireless connection card.. I tried a few places ,and shopped around ,and found some pretty good deals..Being a sprint pcs customer, I decided to go down and see if they would add a wireless card to my plan.. Well of course I was denied ( the great perks of being a long time sprint customer, and I am forbidden to pay by credit card, and I cannot add a new line of service)

Just as I was about to give up, the sprint rep said there was another way he could get me the service, but that he would have to enter my information without a ss number ( in his terms, I would have to be considered an immigrant..) I said ok lets try it like that , and sure enough I was approved , with an even better credit rating then I originally had with sprint. Its so sad that these companies will cater to “immigrants” more then they will cater to their loyal customers.. He mentioned some of the perks , like if I was to cancel early, I wouldn’t have to pay termination fees , because being an immigrant, they had no tracking of my ss number.”

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