OT: SSN's and ID Theft

[Fairlight]

I figure this might be a good group to ask, since we deal with many
different professions between us.

My wife told me this weekend that they've started selling ID Theft
insurance (she thought she heard Allstate as one), and that they're
drumming up the scare factor of throwing out any personal documents that
have both your name and SSN.

I remember a longgggg time ago being told that it's actually -illegal- for
anyone except the Social Security Administration or your employer (and only
for taxation purposes) to ask for your SSN--you can and should refuse any
other request as unlawful.

Please explain to me how this meshes with pretty much every university,
business, etc., all identify you via your SSN, and we've merrily given them
that information for years.  It's only recently that Kentucky has started
phasing out SSN-based driver's license numbers.  I remember Wisconsin were
always based on SSN through at least 1993.  I can't think of a university
that -doesn't- use it to ID you.  And somehow nobody has a problem with
this.

So basically what, the entire system has illegally made it a matter of
course to give up the (supposedly) most dangerous combination of
information about you?

Mind you, while I don't debate the reality of ID Theft, I think they're
making it sound a lot more rampant than it probably is--to the extent that
they're needlessly scaring people.

I wonder what would happen if you refused to provide a university with your
SSN for both legal and security purposes.  Probably wouldn't admit you, I'd
wager.

At any rate, I'm curious if there was validity to what I was told about
dissemination of that number being illegal, and whether all these thousands
of institutions have been (illegally) creating part of the problem all
these years.  Anyone have informed insight?

mark->
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