AFFIRMATIVE-CONSUMER/INTERNET-OTHER AFFIRMATIVES� 385

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS

OVER-USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS CREATES A VERY REAL PRIVACY THREAT

Sheila R. Cherry; Insight on the News, February 07, 2000, Pg. 24 TITLE: Getting to Know All About You // acs-EE2001

But privacy, not confusion, is the biggest citizen concern involving the SSN, say civil libertarians. Virtual identity theft occurs when someone takes over another person's account or opens a new one in another consumer's name. Credit bureaus report thousands of calls per day relating to identity theft.

THE MORE SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ARE USED, THE MORE THEY ARE A VICTIM OF FRAUD

Sheila R. Cherry; Insight on the News, February 07, 2000, Pg. 24 TITLE: Getting to Know All About You // acs-EE2001

The ACLU's Nojeim warns of the paradox of the SSN's rapid transformation into a national identifier. "Ironically, as the number of identification uses for the SSN proliferates, the less useful it becomes as an identifier because of fraud," he says.

RELIANCE ON SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS AS IDENTIFIERS THREATENS INDIVIDUAL PRIVACY

Sheila R. Cherry; Insight on the News, February 07, 2000, Pg. 24 TITLE: Getting to Know All About You // acs-EE2001

In the age of streamlined snooping and computerized information collection, the SSN has become the identifier of choice. Using the same number to track citizens through the rapidly growing system of databases makes it ever easier to obtain more information with less effort - good for legitimate information searches, whatever those might be, but not so great for privacy.

ONE THOUSAND SOCIAL SECURITY IDENTITY THEFTS OCCUR EACH DAY

Sheila R. Cherry; Insight on the News, February 07, 2000, Pg. 24 TITLE: Getting to Know All About You // acs-EE2001

So, what recourse is available to victims? The SSA says that it cannot help restore credit if a stolen SSN has been used to run up bills or obtain credit or perpetrate other fraud. But officials do provide individuals who suspect they have been victims of identity fraud involving Social Security with a way to determine whether records of their personal-earnings benefits have been affected. Meanwhile, citizens must be careful. According to Consumer Reports, 1,000 incidents of identity theft occur daily.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER WAS NOT MEANT AS A UNIVERSAL IDENTIFIER, BUT THAT IS HOW IT IS USED

Sheila R. Cherry; Insight on the News, February 07, 2000, Pg. 24 TITLE: Getting to Know All About You // acs-EE2001

The Social Security numbering system has proved so convenient for keeping track of people that it has been all but usurped as a national identifying number. But it wasn't meant for such widespread use, says the SSA, which is taking a second stab at providing an online enumeration database for employers this summer. The present universality of the SSN may make it a victim of its own success.

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER THREAT IS GROWING

TERESA DIXON MURRAY; The Plain Dealer, March 20, 2000; Pg. 1C TITLE: KEEPING YOUR LIFE PRIVATE; PROTECTING PERSONAL DATA IS BECOMING TOUGHER IN THE INFORMATION AGE // acs-VT2001

Worry that the wrong kind of person will latch onto your Social Security number or credit-card information and ruin your reputation or credit.

The FTC now gets 400 complaints a week on its new identity theft hotline. And the Social Security Administration last year recorded 39,000 reports of Social Security number misuse. That's up from 1,153 complaints in 1997, or an increase of 3,300 percent in two years.

IDENTITY THEFT IS A RAPIDLY GROWING PROBLEM

JEFF KUNERTH, The Houston Chronicle, August 22, 1999, SECTION: A; Pg. 16 TITLE: Trust, privacy endangered; Society's advances in technology could threaten way of life // acs-EE2001

Identity theft - the high-tech version of credit-card fraud - is one of the fastest-growing crimes in America. Investigations of the misuse of Social Security numbers tripled between 1996 and 1997, according to the GAO. The theft of Social Security numbers is made easier and cheaper by the amount of personal information available through the Internet and for purchase.

"You can get anybody's Social Security number for $ 5, and for another $ 5 get all their residences for the past five years," said Bryan Pfaffenberger, author of Protect Your Privacy On The Internet. "Then you can get credit-card information and start charging stuff."

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER IDENTITY THEFT HAS SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES

TOM HELD, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 8, 1999, SECTION: News Pg. 2 TITLE: Bill on ID numbers pits practicality against privacy Measure would safeguard identity; courts worry about added workload Web // acs-EE2001

Erpenbach and Schneider view protecting Social Security numbers as a vital part of the effort to slow down the rapid increase in identity theft in Wisconsin. Cases have been popping up all over the country involving thieves who obtain a Social Security number, claim the victim's identity and rack up huge credit card bills and even criminal records.

One victim in Sun Prairie spent more than half a year trying to clear $60,000 in frau dulent debt from her credit records. The thief used her Social Security number, then made up a new name and address to run up the bills that later fell to the victim.

Lives can be turned into nightmares through identity theft, with ruined credit ratings and criminal records that are nearly impossible to correct, Schneider said.