Apr30
Identity Theft and SSN Randomization
SSN Randomization is a project by the SSA in an effort to curb Identity theft victims in the USA. The Social Security Administration (SSA) changed the way Social Security Numbers are issued starting on June 25, 2011.
Since 1973 SSN’s have been issued based on the Zip Code of the mailing address of the SSN application. The first three digits of the SSN were tied to a particular state. After June 25, 2011 this will no longer be the case making it a little more difficult for Identity thieves to guess or obtain the SSN of their victims.
Starting on June 25, 2011, the SSA will eliminate the geographical significance of the first three digits of the SSN, currently referred to as the area number, by no longer allocating the area numbers for assignment to individuals in specific states.
The project is an effort to help protect the integrity of the SSN by establishing a new randomized assignment methodology. SSN Randomization will also extend the longevity of the nine-digit SSN nationwide.
The downside to this randomization is that employers, collection agents, financial institutions and many other industries that rely on being able to conduct SSN verification using various third party services may find themselves paying up to 10x more for similar services.
| ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Noah Wieder is CEO of SearchBug, Inc. and the founder of Best People Search. SearchBug.com offers a Free People Finder and Company Search as well as Data Scrubbing Services. Bestpeoplesearch.com is a private investigator portal and Information Retrieval Services web site where investigators offer searches to businesses and individuals with specific search needs. |
