Here's the skinny on Social Security numbers from AARP: http://tinyurl.com/jdxf4
The *only* reason cited for not giving out your Social Security number is identity theft. It also enumerates the many types of institutions that still use SS#s for identification purposes and explains why the number is so useful. A quote from the introduction: Because both government agencies and private businesses use SSNs for a wide range of non-Social Security purposes, the SSN has become a de facto national identifier.2 For this reason, SSNs are much sought after by identity thieves, who use these numbers to assume the identity of another individual and commit fraud. With an estimated 10 million individuals being victimized by identity theft each year, preventing identity thieves from obtaining SSNs is increasingly essential to helping protect individuals from fraud.3 A recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report examining how SSNs are used in the public sector found that federal, state, and local government agencies use them for a variety of non-Social Security purposes, including identity verification, data sharing, research, and the administration of programs that deliver services and benefits to the public.4 This creates numerous documents and records that contain SSNs, many of which are available to the public for inspection.5 In addition, some government agencies print SSNs on individual eligibility and identification cards, making it easier for identity thieves to gain access to this key number. The private sector also uses SSNs extensively as a means to identify an individual's records in a database and as an authenticator to confirm the identity of an individual.6 SSNs are often used by financial service companies to link individuals to their accounts and, as a result, they are highly valuable to would-be identity thieves.7 To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
