SSN's and ID Theft

[Mike Schwartz (PC Support)]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: filepro-list-bounces at lists.celestial.com [mailto:filepro-list-

> 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.

     If you are certain that there are businesses who do NOT need the SS#
and are not offering an alternate numbering system, then you should advise
them that they should be doing so.  

     I think we've hashed this previously in this group.  Even back in 1968,
the old CICS computer software for the University of Wisconsin system that I
was working with offered an alternative input method, so that if a
registrant declined to give us their social security number, we would assign
a number out of the block of social security numbers the Feds gave us.  We
put up a STRONG warning screen that the operators were required to tell the
people who declined to give us their SS number.  It went something like,
"YOU will be responsible for keeping track of this number.  If you forget
it, there may be additional delays and charges involved in retrieving your
records in the future."

     You can still obtain blocks of these "dead" numbers from the FEDS.
They are kind of like 555 phone numbers.

    There isn't any method of insuring that they are unique between
institutions.  For example, the UW might issue #123-45-6789 to John Smith,
and an insurance company might issue the same SS# to Peter Jones.  The only
guarantee with this group of numbers is that there isn't any "real" person
assigned to this range of numbers within the SS system itself.  

     (This was a really big deal at the U of Wis. during the Vietnam War.
We got a lot of guys who thought it would help them hide from the draft if
they didn't use their real SS#.)

     When we hashed this over a few years ago, I called my brother, who
still worked in the registrar's office at UW-Stout.  He said that they still
did have an alternate system, and that they had one for all the years he
worked there, so I believe whoever told you that the U of Wis. does not have
an alternate SS# system is mistaken.

 
Mike Schwartz