Colorado court decides it’s not a crime to use another’s SSN – if you use your name
November 5, 2010 – 10:01 amThe Colorado Supreme Court issued a ruling that using someone else’s Social Security number is not identity theft as long as you use your own name with it.
The case surrounding the ruling involved Felix Montes-Rodriguez, who went to Hajek Chevrolet in Longmont to obtain a car loan. He used a false SSN on the loan application and to find employment. He was arrested after the owner of the SSN became aware of the theft.
Montes-Rodriguez was convicted of using another person’s Social Security number, but the state’s Supreme Court overturned the conviction, saying the Social Security number was one of several pieces of identifying information on the application and since Montes-Rodriguez used his real name, he was not posing as someone else.
The court ruled that the fact that the SSN was used to conduct a credit check was irrelevant as it was a lender requirement, not a legal requirement. The court said there is no evidence that a Social Security number is a legal requirement to obtain a loan.
Prosecutors in the case argued that a Social Security number is often the only avenue to a person’s credit history, and that when someone uses another person’s number, that person is assuming the other’s credit history.
Tags: identity theft, LifeLock, Social Security card theft
