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poltr1I really detest health-care and financial providers who ask for my Social Security number over the phone, claiming they need it for identification. I don't give it if I'm talking on a cell phone. I don't give it if people call me. And I'll refuse to give it out, even if I'm making the call to them.
First off, the telephone is an unsecure device. It's too easy for people to listen in or for the line to be tapped. I sometimes tell people "I only give it over secure and encrypted phone lines. Do you have a STU-III?" Unless they've worked in environments similar to what I've worked in, they have no idea what a STU-III is.
Second, the number was never meant to be used as an identification number, but it's become one over the years. The early Social Security Administration cards explicitly said "Not to be used for identification". Apparently that conveniently got ignored over the years. If I'm mad enough, I'll tell people, "The Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits the use of Social Security numbers as identification!" I don't know if that's technically correct, but it stops some people cold in their tracks.
It's scary to think how many databases use Social Security numbers as their key fields. No wonder identity theft is so rampant.
There was a time I was so angry that I told someone that my Social Security Number was "666". I claimed, "That's what the Government assigned me!" (Yeah, and I escaped from Hangar 18.)
I really would like to singlehandedly change how the world works with regard to these numbers, but that's like Don Quixote going after windmills.
[Updated 15:01 EDT] I found a great resource pertaining to Social Security numbers and security concerns here:
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs10-ssn.htm.
First off, the telephone is an unsecure device. It's too easy for people to listen in or for the line to be tapped. I sometimes tell people "I only give it over secure and encrypted phone lines. Do you have a STU-III?" Unless they've worked in environments similar to what I've worked in, they have no idea what a STU-III is.
Second, the number was never meant to be used as an identification number, but it's become one over the years. The early Social Security Administration cards explicitly said "Not to be used for identification". Apparently that conveniently got ignored over the years. If I'm mad enough, I'll tell people, "The Privacy Act of 1974 prohibits the use of Social Security numbers as identification!" I don't know if that's technically correct, but it stops some people cold in their tracks.
It's scary to think how many databases use Social Security numbers as their key fields. No wonder identity theft is so rampant.
There was a time I was so angry that I told someone that my Social Security Number was "666". I claimed, "That's what the Government assigned me!" (Yeah, and I escaped from Hangar 18.)
I really would like to singlehandedly change how the world works with regard to these numbers, but that's like Don Quixote going after windmills.
[Updated 15:01 EDT] I found a great resource pertaining to Social Security numbers and security concerns here:
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs10-ssn.htm.
