WASHINGTON-Rep E. Clay Shaw (R-Fla.) is primed to put forward legislation to restrict the use of Social Security Numbers, (SSNs) and thereby protect citizens/consumers from potential identity fraud. Shaw, chairman of the House Subcommittee on Social Security of the Ways and Means Committee conducted hearings recently that heard testimony from retired Air Force Officer John Stevens in which he described how his good name and credit were destroyed by an identity thief who used his SSN to open 33 fraudulent accounts. Purchases made on those accounts totaled $113,000, Stevens said. Adding to the misery, he and his wife Mary were hounded by bank card collectors and credit bureau representatives who refused to correct (or even believe) that they were not responsible for the debts. Shaw had a sympathetic ear, as he himself related that he had been shocked to be asked for his SSN while trying to rent a video at Blockbuster; when he refused to give it, he left without a movie. "Because Social Security Numbers often represent the entry point for ripoff artists and identity thieves, there's no better place to start," said Shaw. A staffer in Shaw's office told Credit Union Times that he was formulating legislation to somehow stem misuse without interfering with legitimate purposes for the numbers. "He's treading lightly because there are a lot of sides to this," the aide said. "But his intention is to put a bill together and introduce it by the end of June." Currently, no law exists to stop anyone from buying and selling SSNs. They are available on the Internet from so-called "information brokers." They have become, in effect, the closest thing this country has to a universal identifier. SSNs are used as Medicare number IDs; they are required by financial institutions and retail outlets when persons apply for quick credit and have been adopted by many states as drivers license numbers. The Federal Parent Locater Service, created to help track deadbeat dads, has become, some privacy advocates say, a national data bank of SSNs rife for the picking by fraudsters. There are now some 227 million Americans with SSNs, and the government may be the biggest culprit in widening their use, yet each one is clearly marked, "Not for Identification." -
caburger@cutimes.com
