Discussion on:

Why it's easier today for a thief to guess your nine digits

Great article. All news on this subject should really stress to the public that it is wrong for companies to use their SSN as a form of authentication or password. If we could ban those uses of the SSN, then the SSN could be treated as a useful identifier and public information just like name, address, and telephone number. We need a public-friendly, convenient, and secure authentication system for in-person, over-the-phone, and paper/document use. Sounds like a business opportunity.

Ever notice how, to appear secure, you'll only be shown or asked for the last four digits of your SSN? This is the part of your number that is the least predictable from other information. It is the most unique part, and probably the most valuable to an identity thief.

I have been using a made-up number for years as an SSN surrogate. The number has the proper number of digits and is easy for me to remember. I use it only when the actual SSN is not required, and always disclose that I am using a substitute number. It's gossamer armor, but it does limit the dissemination of the real one.

I don't know many people who aren't aware that 4 of the digits reveal information about your age and place of birth. That being said, it's not always accurate; as you noted, people in rural areas/home births were frequently not issued SSNs at all until the early '90s, and these individuals have a different numerical suffix. It is not uncommon for someone more than 20 years of age to have lived a good portion of their life without one.

This article is far too vague. If you're trying to say that 3rd party information leakage is a problem, say that and move on. Despite all the bullets, this article fails to make its point.

1) The SS# is mighty convenient as an identifier - just like ones name only unambiguous. The id theft problem is not because one has this unique identifier, but because financial concerns use it for purposes for which it ill-suited - i.e. giving out money. The cure is not to hide SS# but to use other / additional identification for financial matters.

2) We must be close to running out of 9 digit SS#s - 1/3 of them are currently assigned to living individuals, probably another 1/3 to expired folks, and 1/3 for business taxpayer id's.
I thought that there were already SS area numbers that had been exhausted and that the number scheme: area-group-serial had been superceded - much in the way that 'phone numbers became more random as area codes were exhausted.
Have you heard of extensions to SS# lengths? Imagine what a transition from 9 digit to even 10 digit SS# would mean ... shades of Y2K.

In the UK they do not have this problem as SS number is only used by income tax & heath care & pension government departments not for any financial checks.
If more than one person tried to use another persons number at the same time the income tax computer would give an alert although this could take some time.

you know up en-till around 2000 - 2002 my local unemployment office
wanted your SSN# every time you went in there and got any sort of job information, they would have you write it down on a piece of paper and then they would just toss it in the trash after words.
and if you refused to give them your SSN# then you wouldn't get any information on any jobs.

Let's keep the SSN for what the SSN was designed for. Social Security.

Concerning leber70@..
Making up Social Security numbers may work for the person doing it but they are likely stealing the number from someone else. That is identity theft. It causes problems for the other person.

Here's an idea. Scrap SSN's entirely and require a biometric profile as identification. It's unique to an individual, and if the technology is properly implemented, impossible to duplicate.

Scary,
Both Medicare & Medicaid add a letter to the end of the SS number to 'disguise it' and then, publish it to the world.
I sure hope nobody figures out how to break their code.

Read something recently which stated that SSN's are reissued after the deceased has been gone to his reward over 90 days. In that case, there would be no shortage of SSN's.

Local scam-meisters allow illegal immigrants to use their SSN, have the illegal authorize sufficient withholding to cover all of their taxes, and draw huge Social Security or disability checks when they are of age or find a good disability attorney.

Social Security Numbers were never intended to be used for
identification purposes. Both scans of such language as
included on a social security card as well as the legal
documentation may be found at the included URL:

http://www.apfn.org/apfn/ssn.htm

As this is not a government website, I strongly recommend the
general practice of researching the legal references (Title
number, etc.) provided at this site as to retrieve a trusted
source for the actual document.

"Security" in the U.S. is a joke. We are subjected to insecure
methods for the sake of increasing security. The RFID passports
aren't made in the U.S. and use technology already proven
trivial. Drivers License Numbers are based on an algorithm and
can be generated based on name, sex, and date. Also let it be
reminded that Social Security Numbers are recycled after about
150 years.

In the computer world, we are expected to become Certified
Ethical Hackers in order to combat malicious hackers. In the
checking industry, we employed one of the most notorious
check fraud people, Frank W. Abagnale Jr. Find a ring leader
enabling Illegal Immigrants and learn from them how to secure
the system.

We could stop identity theft immediately if the gov't passed a law that NO one could access your credit information except you. Make it so that only the person himself could go "in person" to get a copy of their credit report, where they would have to provide a fingerprint to get it. Then, the person could take the certified report (only good for 7 days) directly to the mortgage company, bank, etc. where they present it only for that approval purpose. The person himself would retain the file, the creditor could only view it for approval. That way the full control of one's information would be under your protection. No one, especially, the credit agencies, credit card companies, mortgage companies, banks, whatever, could have any access to your information unless you yourself took it to them for "viewing only". Make it the law that none of these agencies could store your information, ever! We have to give back control to the people.The way it is now, your constitutional rights, the 4th amendment, are being broken by these agencies and companies having access to information without your consent, or a warrant from a federal judge.

...that our financial-industry overlords would wardial their paid
shills in The Best Congress (Corporate) Money Can Buy? and
make sure that it doesn't happen, at least not before Hell freezes
to less then 3 degrees K.

And that, sad to say, is the root of many, many of our problems:
we need to fundamentally rework the legislative branch ?
structurally and philosophically ??before we go the way of the
Holy Roman Empire.

With this in mind, let us also remember to stay vigilant at all times that our credit card number is safe and that no one else can access them to commit fraud. Students need to be more careful in keeping their private information and not to share too much information about themselves to avoid getting victimized by fraud. I do hope that more and more people will learn about ID theft and how this kind of fraud can be prevented.

What we need to do is to be extra careful and keep our passwords and account numbers secret. Do not share too much personal information especially online because you do not know everyone that can gain access to it. This is why fraud is one of the most committed crimes in the country - because people go on their daily lives without the idea that they can be victimized at any time and place.
http://www.sanantonioshredding.com
This is why we need to pay more attention to what comes and goes in our mailboxes because we may not know that fraudulent minds are already on the lookout for something they can use to their advantage. This is a sad but true reality and we have to do our part in preventing this kind of scam from ever happening to us.