| == Phrack Inc. == |
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| Volume Three, Issue Thirty-five, File 6 of 13 |
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| ***** Social Security Numbers & Privacy ***** |
| *** *** |
| * b y C h r i s H i b b e r t * |
| *** *** |
| ***** June 1, 1991 ***** |
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| Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility |
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| Many people are concerned about the number of organizations asking for their |
| Social Security Numbers. They worry about invasions of privacy and the |
| oppressive feeling of being treated as just a number. |
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| Unfortunately, I can't offer any hope about the dehumanizing effects of |
| identifying you with your numbers. I *can* try to help you keep your Social |
| Security Number from being used as a tool in the invasion of your privacy. |
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| Surprisingly, government agencies are reasonably easy to deal with; private |
| organizations are much more troublesome. Federal law restricts the agencies at |
| all levels of government that can demand your number and a fairly complete |
| disclosure is required even if its use is voluntary. There are no comparable |
| laws restricting the uses non-government organizations can make of it, or |
| compelling them to tell you anything about their plans. With private |
| institutions, your main recourse is refusing to do business with anyone whose |
| terms you don't like. |
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| ********************* |
| *** *** |
| *** Short History *** |
| *** *** |
| ********************* |
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| Social Security numbers were introduced by the Social Security Act of 1935. |
| They were originally intended to be used only by the social security program, |
| and public assurances were given at the time that use would be strictly |
| limited. In 1943 Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9397 which required federal |
| agencies to use the number when creating new record-keeping systems. In 1961 |
| the IRS began to use it as a taxpayer ID number. The Privacy Act of 1974 |
| required authorization for government agencies to use SSNs in their data bases |
| and required disclosures (detailed below) when government agencies request the |
| number. Agencies which were already using SSN as an identifier were allowed to |
| continue using it. The Tax Reform Act of 1976 gave authority to state or local |
| tax, welfare, driver's license, or motor vehicle registration authorities to |
| use the number in order to establish identities. The Privacy Protection Study |
| Commission of 1977 recommended that the Executive Order be repealed after some |
| agencies referred to it as their authorization to use SSNs. I don't know |
| whether it was repealed, but that practice has stopped. |
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| The Privacy Act of 1974 (5 USC 552a) requires that any federal, state, or local |
| government agency that requests your Social Security Number has to tell you |
| three things: |
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| 1. Whether disclosure of your Social Security Number is required or |
| optional; |
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| 2. What law authorizes them to ask for your Social Security Number; and, |
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| 3. How your Social Security Number will be used if you give it to them. |
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| In addition, the Act says that only Federal law can make use of the Social |
| Security Number mandatory. So anytime you're dealing with a government |
| institution and you're asked for your Social Security Number, just look for the |
| Privacy Act Statement. If there isn't one, complain and don't give your |
| number. If the statement is present, read it. If it says giving your Social |
| Security Number is voluntary, you'll have to decide for yourself whether to |
| fill in the number. |
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| ***************************** |
| *** *** |
| *** Private Organizations *** |
| *** *** |
| ***************************** |
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| The guidelines for dealing with non-governmental institutions are much more |
| tenuous. Most of the time private organizations that request your Social |
| Security Number can get by quite well without your number, and if you can find |
| the right person to negotiate with, they'll willingly admit it. The problem is |
| finding that right person. The person behind the counter is often told no more |
| than "get the customers to fill out the form completely." |
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| Most of the time, you can convince them to use some other number. Usually the |
| simplest way to refuse to give your Social Security Number is simply to leave |
| the appropriate space blank. One of the times when this isn't a strong enough |
| statement of your desire to conceal your number is when dealing with |
| institutions which have direct contact with your employer. Most employers have |
| no policy against revealing your Social Security Number; they apparently |
| believe the omission must have been an unintentional slip. |
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| ***************************** |
| *** *** |
| *** Lenders and Borrowers *** |
| *** *** |
| ***************************** |
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| Banks and credit card issuers are required by the IRS to report the SSNs of |
| account holders to whom they pay interest or when they charge interest and |
| report it to the IRS. If you don't tell them your number you will probably |
| either be refused an account or be charged a penalty such as withholding of |
| taxes on your interest. |
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| ************************************ |
| *** *** |
| *** Insurers, Hospitals, Doctors *** |
| *** *** |
| ************************************ |
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| No laws require medical service providers to use your Social Security Number as |
| an ID number (except for Medicare, Medicaid, etc). They often use it because |
| it's convenient or because your employer uses it to certify employees to its |
| groups health plan. In the latter case, you have to get your employer to |
| change their policies. Often, the people who work in personnel assume that the |
| employer or insurance company requires use of the SSN when that's not really |
| the case. When my current employer asked for my SSN for an insurance form, I |
| asked them to try to find out if they had to use it. After a week they |
| reported that the insurance company had gone along with my request and told me |
| what number to use. Blood banks also ask for the number but are willing to do |
| without if pressed on the issue. After I asked politely and persistently, the |
| blood bank I go to agreed that they didn't have any use for the number, and is |
| in the process of teaching their receptionists not to request the number. |
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| ************************************************************ |
| *** *** |
| *** Why Is The Use of Social Security Numbers A Problem? *** |
| *** *** |
| ************************************************************ |
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| The Social Security Number doesn't work well as an identifier for several |
| reasons. The first reason is that it isn't at all secure; if someone makes up |
| a nine-digit number, it's quite likely that they've picked a number that is |
| assigned to someone. There are quite a few reasons why people would make up a |
| number: to hide their identity or the fact that they're doing something; |
| because they're not allowed to have a number of their own (illegal immigrants, |
| e.g.), or to protect their privacy. In addition, it's easy to write the number |
| down wrong, which can lead to the same problems as intentionally giving a false |
| number. There are several numbers that have been used by thousands of people |
| because they were on sample cards shipped in wallets by their manufacturers |
| (one is included below). |
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| When more than one person uses the same number, it clouds up the records. If |
| someone intended to hide their activities, it's likely that it'll look bad on |
| whichever record it shows up on. When it happens accidently, it can be |
| unexpected, embarrassing, or worse. How do you prove that you weren't the one |
| using your number when the record was made? |
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| A second problem with the use of SSNs as identifiers is that it makes it hard |
| to control access to personal information. Even assuming you want someone to |
| be able to find out some things about you, there's no reason to believe that |
| you want to make all records concerning yourself available. When multiple |
| record systems are all keyed by the same identifier, and all are intended to be |
| easily accessible to some users, it becomes difficult to allow someone access |
| to some of the information about a person while restricting them to specific |
| topics. |
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| *********************************************** |
| *** *** |
| *** What Can You Do To Protect Your Number? *** |
| *** *** |
| *********************************************** |
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| If despite your having written "refused" in the box for Social Security Number, |
| it still shows up on the forms someone sends back to you (or worse, on the ID |
| card they issue), your recourse is to write letters or make phone calls. Start |
| politely, explaining your position and expecting them to understand and |
| cooperate. If that doesn't work, there are several more things to try: |
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| 1. Talk to people higher up in the organization. This often works simply |
| because the organization has a standard way of dealing with requests |
| not to use the SSN, and the first person you deal with just hasn't |
| been around long enough to know what it is. |
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| 2. Enlist the aid of your employer. You have to decide whether talking |
| to someone in personnel, and possibly trying to change corporate |
| policy is going to get back to your supervisor and affect your job. |
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| 3. Threaten to complain to a consumer affairs bureau. Most newspapers |
| can get a quick response. Some cities, counties, and states also have |
| programs that might be able to help. |
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| 4. Tell them you'll take your business elsewhere (and follow through if |
| they don't cooperate). |
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| 5. If it's a case where you've gotten service already, but someone |
| insists that you have to provide your number in order to have a |
| continuing relationship, you can choose to ignore the request in hopes |
| that they'll forget or find another solution before you get tired of |
| the interruption. |
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| If someone absolutely insists on getting your Social Security Number, you may |
| want to give a fake number. There is no legal penalty as long as you're not |
| doing it to get something from a government agency or to commit fraud. There |
| are a few good choices for "anonymous" numbers. Making one up at random is a |
| bad idea, as it may coincide with someone's real number and cause them some |
| amount of grief. It's better to use a number like 078-05-1120, which was |
| printed on "sample" cards inserted in thousands of new wallets sold in the 40s |
| and 50s. It's been used so widely that both the IRS and SSA recognize it |
| immediately as bogus, while most clerks haven't heard of it. It's also safe to |
| invent a number that has only zeros in one of the fields. The Social Security |
| Administration never issues numbers with this pattern. They also recommend |
| that people showing Social Security cards in advertisements use numbers in the |
| range 987-65-4320 through 987-65-4329. |
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| The Social Security Administration recommends that you request a copy of your |
| file from them every few years to make sure that your records are correct. |
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| *************** |
| *** *** |
| *** THE END *** |
| *** *** |
| *************** |
| _______________________________________________________________________________ |
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