Congressman Introduces “Common Sense” Bill to Better Protect Social Security Numbers
July 24, 2009 – 2:45 pm
Congress recently passed legislation that allowed the government to publish the last four digits of an individual’s social on public documents. The timing couldn’t have been worse, as just a few days earlier researchers at Carnegie Mellon announced that they found a formula that allowed them to correctly guess the first five digits of a person’s SSN (if born after 1988) the first time 44% of the time. Let’s just be thankful that some in Congress can do math.
Congressmen John Tanner (D-TN) and Sam Johnson (R-TX) introduced the “Social Security Number Privacy and Identity Theft Prevention Act of 2009″ which seeks to limit the sale, purchase and display of social security numbers. This bill helps you by limiting a company’s ability to display SSNs to the public and limiting the sell or purchase of SSNs. In addition it placed restrictions on SSNs displayed on paychecks and identification cards and denies access to prisoners in jobs that give them access to SSNs. Furthermore it places harder penalties on those convicted of stealing and using SSNs.
Rep. Johnson said this about the bill: “This common-sense bill would help stop access to Social Security numbers by restricting their sale, purchase and public display. It’s time to stop talking and take action to prevent ID theft and protect Americans’ privacy. Let’s get to work.” While a bill like this certainly is “common-sense,” fighting identity theft still has miles to go before becoming effective against identity thieves and scams to gain access to your credit. It takes a vigilant eye focused on your credit reports and bank accounts and even then it may not be enough.
Tags: bill, common sense, congress, Identity Theft Prevention, legislation, social security number, ssn
3 Responses to “Congressman Introduces “Common Sense” Bill to Better Protect Social Security Numbers”
Thank you much for that good entry.
By on-line on Jul 27, 2009
Great site…keep up the good work.
By Bill Bartmann on Sep 1, 2009
Just wanted to drop you a line to say, I enjoy reading your site. I thought about starting a blog myself but don’t have the time.
Oh well maybe one day….
By Donnieboy on Oct 12, 2009