// Social Insecurity // // by bland_inquisitor // // http://www.oldskoolphreak.com We all know that protecting our social security number is very important. It is a number that is given to us at birth, and although the card is "not to be used as identification," in this information age we are living in, our SSN is an all too convenient way for businesses, hospitals, universities, and a myriad of other agencies to keep track of us. As I was going through the research process for this article, and learning just how personal this number really is, I started to get VERY concerned about the possible thousands of people who have access to this information. I hope in this article to explain how the SSN system works, to suggest methods you can protect yourself from fraud, and to impart some of this serious concern I now have. Every SSN issued is a series of 9 numbers. AAA-GG-SSSS. The first three digits, the Area Number, are assigned to the geographical area the SSN was applied for. A complete list of area number assignments can be found at http://www.ssa.gov/foia/stateweb.html If the thought of your area number being so closely tied to the state you were most likely born in, the middle 2 digits, called the Group Number, narrows the field even farther. The group number tells the span of time in which your SSN was applied for. In chronological order, the pool of group numbers is: 1. Odd numbers, 01 to 09 2. Even numbers, 10 to 98 3. Even numbers, 02 to 08 4. Odd numbers, 11 to 99 Since all the numbers in a pool have to be used before moving on to the next tier, It would be possible for someone to narrow down the year of your birth. However, if someone wanted to narrow your age even farther, all they would have to do is have a look at the final 4 digits in your SSN. The last 4 numbers of an SSN are the Serial Number. They are given out as an extension of the Group number. This means for every group number, a serial number between 0001 and 9999 is used. So just by having your SSN, someone can instantly tell the state in which your SSN was issued, and a pretty narrow time frame for your age. I know this doesn't sound like very much personal data, but for me any is too much. Believe it or not, but some states, like Oklahoma, use your SSN for your Drivers License number as well! Pardon my language, but that has the double benefit of being fucking lazy and fucking stupid all rolled into one. The current systems are rife with problems, both how numbers are issued, and the way we are forced to hand our SSN over to pretty much everybody and their mother. Where we are all stuck is that if we complain too much about the current system, it my very well be replaced with something far more intrusive, like implanted microchips. More people than you know have access to your SSN, and not all those people are nice. Our 9-digit names are all over our most closely guarded secrets, and are used for almost every institution we are a part of. Baudrillard would say that the giving our SSN to all these people would make it worthless, owing to the fact that it's not a secret if everyone knows. If only he were right. The truth of the matter is that we as a society have put all our eggs in one basket and left that basket on a street corner. The best we can do is to be smart about how we use our SSN and whom we give it to. Businesses Most of the time we are not required to give our SSN to a private business. This includes private health care providers; however, we are obligated to provide our SSN to Medicare and other government-funded providers. Just because we do not, legally speaking, have to give our SSN to businesses, there is no law against a business asking for it. Let's face it; a guaranteed unique identifier is a handy way to create a database. If a company tells you they require your SSN, either ask to speak with someone who can make exceptions, or take your money elsewhere. Trust me, if you start heading for the door, almost any company will start taking your requests seriously. Employers Your employer needs your SSN for a number of reasons, including payroll, tax, and earnings. However, the Social Security Administration frowns on using this data for public information like parking permits. Internet Transactions Some e-merchants require your SSN for authentication purposes. Before you just hand out the master key to your identity, take the time to read their privacy statement. If they don't make a privacy statement available, keep on clicking until you find a company that does. Any merchant will have an 800 number for you to call, so take the time to do so. Get involved with the people who handle your SSN, and ask them what they are doing to help keep you safe. If you get an unsolicited e-mail from someone claiming to need your SSN to "update their records," promptly delete that message and do not respond. Financial Institutions Unfortunately, in 1961 the IRS started using our SSN as our taxpayer ID number (TIN). This means that every transaction that involves making money carries with it our SSN/TIN. Knowing this, you should make very sure that you keep a close eye on who you give your SSN to. Educational Institutions Schools that receive federal funding must comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, also known as the "Buckley Amendment," enacted in 1974. One of the provisions of this act is the requirement of written consent before any "identifiable information" is publicly disclosed. As those of us who have attended colleges or universities may well know, there is a gray area for an SSN to be used as a student number. Schools that receive federal funding are also subject to the Privacy Act of 1974. Under this law, schools that require your SSN must provide a privacy statement enumerating how this information will be used. Identity theft Identity theft is yet another in a long list of crimes that is being blamed on hackers. Keep this in mind: Criminals steal identities and do unspeakable things; meanwhile, a hacker is sitting here trying to help keep you safe. There are some simple things you can do to ensure your identity is still uniquely yours. The first thing to do is to order your Social Security Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement. Take the time to make sure everything on it is correct. You can contact the Social Security Administration at (800) 772-1213 to start the process of obtaining this FREE report. The other main report you will need to check, I recommend twice a year, is your credit report. There are 3 main credit agencies: Equifax, Experian (was TRW), and Trans Union LLC. A credit report will cost you around $9.00, but it's money well spent. If you live in Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey or Vermont, you can get a credit report anytime for free. For the rest of us, there are times when we can get our credit reports for free as well. For instance, if you are on public welfare assistance, if you have been denied credit (you must request a copy within 60 days), if you are unemployed and intend to apply for employment in the next 60 days, or if you have reason to believe your file contains inaccurate information due to fraud, you are entitled to a free copy of your credit report. The request for a credit report involves giving out all your personal information, but trust me, they already know. This isn't giving yet another company your information because they don't have it, it's giving your specific information to them so they can send you the file they already have on you. Here are the addresses and phone numbers. Equifax, Inc. P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374 (800) 685-1111 www.equifax.com Experian National Consumer Assistance Box 2104 Allen, TX 75013-2104 (888) 397-3742 www.experian.com Trans Union LLC Consumer Disclosure Center P.O. Box 1000 Chester, PA 19022 (800) 888-4213 www.transunion.com Be sure to call or visit the web pages of the CRA's before you request a report. Make sure you give them all the information they need to promptly process your request, and to check on the prices, as they may differ slightly from one state to the next. Do not yield to the temptation to go through one of those "free credit report" websites. Think about it. It may be free, but going though a middleman agency just increased the way too long list of people who have all your sensitive information by another couple hundred. In closing, being a little more cautious is not that hard. If you take the time to ensure that your private information is being handled in a satisfactory manner, and checking your identity for fraud, you can save yourself from some very nasty possibilities.