"I believe the
Social Security number has outlived its usefulness," Joyce said, noting that the number cannot be changed-even after it has been compromised.
Last year, the IRS issued 1.1 million refunds to people using stolen
Social Security numbers, the inspector general's report said.
Because the district stopped asking for
Social Security numbers in 2006, only 6,458 of the exposed records included the
Social Security numbers, Moore said.
At least one of the eight districts, Grand Prairie, did not send in
Social Security numbers as requested because its public information officer felt the risk of identity theft was too high.
And instead of providing a
social security number, consumers should be able to simply enter into the rate-estimate generator whether their credit is good, average or poor.
Officials with the Office of Federal Student Aid said in response that they will create a process that insures borrowers provide valid
Social Security numbers by 2009.
Employers may start using the last four digits of
Social Security numbers, or use new or existing alternate employee identification numbers, on the paystubs.
Or, Deloitte & Touche might run a file of terminated
Social Security numbers against active ones and find out that a company is paying 50,000 employees and seven of them happen to be on the termination list.
"Widespread use of
social security numbers for identification has created a society subject to a proliferation of identity theft crimes," he acknowleged.
WASHINGTON -- As dioceses across the United States began doing background checks on people who work with minors, some ran into a snag: Many volunteers do not have
Social Security numbers because they are undocumented immigrants.
Thieves typically steal information--credit card numbers,
social security numbers, etc.--from the databases of large companies, then tap into the databases of credit reporting agencies to steal your identity.