Social Here, Social There, Social Security Numbers Everywhere!

A friend , Catherine,sent me the link to this recent Washington Post newspaper article which highlighted a huge identity vulnerability in the USA. Frankly, there are millions of paper documents in federal, state, and local records which disclose consumers' Social Security numbers:

"Social Security numbers are readily available in many courthouses -- in land records and criminal and civil case files -- as well as on many government Web sites that serve up public documents with a few clicks of a mouse. From state to state, and even within states, there is little uniformity in how access to the private information in these records is controlled."

This is a very dangerous situation. I cannot over-emphasize the risk. The large number of documents containing Social Security numbers with accompanying names, addresses, and birth dates makes it very easy for identity thieves to visit a local courthouse or government office and collect personal data from paper (and online) records documents.

While the federal law was changed in 2001 to remove Social Security numbers from documents, the law doesn't include documents produced before then and documents in state and local government records files:

"A recent spot-check found the nine-digit numbers -- introduced in 1936 to track employee earnings and benefits -- on hundreds of land deeds, death certificates, traffic tickets, creditors' filings and other documents related to civil and criminal court cases. Federal courts have banned the numbers from appearing on public documents since 2001... However, millions of paper records were filed across the United States before the laws and rules took effect. Generally, such records are not covered by the prohibitions. And court clerks said it would be virtually impossible to redact all of the Social Security numbers in them."

The article also highlights central Virginia activist Betty "B.J." Ostergren, who pushes lawmakers and government agencies to take sensitive personal data off state-run Web sites. Ostergren operates the thevirginiawatchdog.com site, which lists examples of public figures whose Social Security numbers have appeared in public records.

One thing we consumers can do is press our state and local politicians and government to protect our personal data which resides in records documents. The best summary:

"It's alarming, because the government should be setting the example in really trying to protect people's private information," said state Sen. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Montgomery). "Look, there's a whole criminal underground now that thrives on stealing people's credit cards and usurping their identity for as long as they can."