April 4, 2005

Social Security Numbers Widely Available Online

Although Social Security numbers are one of the most powerful pieces of personal information an identity thief can possess, they remain widely available. This is despite public outcry and the threat of a congressional crackdown after scandals at large information brokers. In the past few months, it has been revealed that ChoicePoint sold sensitive personal data on 145,000 people to an indentity theft crime ring. Also, Bank of America tapes containing information about 1.2 million federal workers have been lost, and there is evidence they were stolen.

Net Aids Access to Sensitive ID Data, Washington Post, April 4, 2005.