Unfortunately, it goes far beyond that and far beyond what could have
been imagined in 1935 when Social Security was started. In fact, it
goes far beyond what the owner of that Trip 35 camera with the engraved
SSN could have imagined in the late 1960s. If she knew what was over
the horizon she would never have exposed her SSN in such a way.
Unfortunately, there was a time when such was actively encouraged by
local police departments as a means of identifying your valuables in the
event they were recovered after being stolen. Little did any one
comprehend the problems of identity theft in those days.
The advantage (and disadvantage) of the SSN in the US is that it is the
only universal personal identifier. Apart from government it is the key
to your financial, medical (and almost everything else) identity. It is
the starting point for truly serious identity theft. Unless you've
taken appropriate precautions (and few have) someone in possession of
that number doesn't need to steal your credit cards... they can just
apply for new ones in your name and based on your credit record. That's
why I checked to see if the owner of that engraved SSN was in the Social
Security Death Index. She's in the grave and her identity is now safe.
Or maybe not. There's probably a scheme by someone (beyond voter
fraud) to figure out how to use that number. Perhaps sale to illegal
aliens.
Chuck Norcutt
Nathan Wajsman wrote:
> Virtually any interaction with any government agency; always required
> by employer when starting a new job; often required when signing a
> rental contract or doing another major economic transaction, etc.
>
> Nathan
>
> Nathan Wajsman
> Alicante, Spain
> http://www.frozenlight.eu
> http://www.greatpix.eu
> http://www.nathanfoto.com
>
> Books: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/search?search=wajsman&x=0&y=0
> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws
> Blog: http://www.fotocycle.dk/blog
>
>
>
> On Aug 18, 2009, at 7:23 AM, Wayne Harridge wrote:
>
>>
>>
>>
>>> Nathan Wajsman <photo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>> Every legal resident of the US has (or should have) a Social Security
>>> Number, it has nothing to do with citizenship. Mine was issued to me
>>> when I was in Buffalo in 1979-80, on a student visa.
>>>
>> So what are the many things the SSN is used for ?
>>
>> Under what circumstances would a person in the USofA be required to
>> supply their SSN ?
>>
>> ...and yes, I know what SSN is, just don't know the scope of use.
>>
>> ...Wayne
>>
>> Wayne Harridge
>>
>> http://lrh.structuregraphs.com
>> --
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