Social Security Numbers Online

Posted by: Gene M. | Jan 04,2008

Well, caucus night is over and it was a pretty exciting one.  Like Henry, I found it pretty inspiring, no matter who you support, Republican or Democrat.  Having grown up in the civil rights era, it’s amazing that an African American is finally on his way towards getting the nomination.  I know there’s a long way to go in primary season, but the win last night is historic and a powerful leap forward, whatever your politics.  Here’s what I’ve written about Obama re: credit cards –

Candidate Corner: Barack Obama
Candidate Corner: The Credit Card Bill of Rights

While I was watching the evening news reporting on the caucus, a report came on about identity theft, alerting me to a problem with fraud that I was unaware of.  The Internet is great and all, but it also has a major downside.  You ever wonder why all the rash of identity thefts is now occurring.  The answer is basically one thing: the Internet.  Sure, there’s dumpster diving and other non-cyberspace tricks, but by and large the Internet, whether it’s through email scams, spyware, dummy sites, or something else, is the reason for the growth of identity theft.

And here’s another way that the Internet has been harmful to people.  It appears that a number of government websites list people’s social security numbers online.  In some states, if you’ve made a sale of land or similar transaction, the site lists your name along with your Social Security number.  It’s like a candy store for identity thieves and it’s mind-boggling that this could be put on a government site.

Part of me doesn’t want to write this because I don’t want to give identity thieves any ideas.  I think that a lot when I see a lot of info being spread about how to protect yourself against identity theft – it’s telling the thieves themselves how it can be done.  But I still think this is something people should know about.  If you Google your Social Security number, you can see if it comes up.  Just be sure that your Social Security number is entirely inaccessible, especially if you’ve recently gone through a major financial transaction that could be listed on a government site.  

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