More SSN rantings....

[poltr1]

Earlier this month, my company switched to an electronic paystub system. Instead of having it mailed to me, I gotta go online to get it. The problem is, in order to log in, I need a PIN number along with my SSN (Social Security number), and I was never assigned a PIN number.

So I called the customer support number, and (you guessed it) they asked for my SSN. Since she couldn't -- or wouldn't -- help me if I didn't fork it over, I gave it to the clerk, quietly, and not in the expected 3-2-4 cadence. (I should have asked her, "What's yours?") After answering additional questions to verify my identity, I got my initial PIN number and was able to log in to their system.


I really hate that private companies use SSN for identification purposes, but I can't find anything that says it's illegal to do so. Fighting this and trying to get the rest of the world to comply and use a different identification criterion is a more daunting task than a salmon swimming upstream. Where do I start? With whom? And would I have a legal leg to stand on?

I first mentioned this two weeks ago, when I groused about having to give my SSN to someone over the phone regarding health-care information. Since health care has virtually nothing to do with the IRS, health care providers shouldn't require it or request it.

Here's a laundry list of sites I found regarding what I consider to be the proper use of the number, i.e. for Social Security Administration use only.

Social Security Number as Identification
by Ray Thomas
http://www.angelfire.com/co2/forcedaltruism/ssnasid.html

Government and Commercial Use of the SSN is Widespread
http://www.glr.com/govt/privacy/ssnuse2.html (plain-text)
http://www.gao.gov/archive/1999/he99028.pdf (PDF)

106th Congress, HR 220 (sponsored by Ron Paul) to amend existing laws re: SS numbers
http://www.house.gov/paul/legis/z-hr220.htm

Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) SSN Privacy Page
http://www.epic.org/privacy/ssn/
http://www.epic.org/privacy/ssn/testimony_0501.html

Minnesota Public Radio: The Surveillance Society | Your National ID Number
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/199911/15_newsroom_privacy/natlid.html

Your Social Security Number: How Secure Is It?
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs10-ssn.htm

FAQ re: the above
http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs10a-SSNFAQ.htm

Comments

[sdorn.livejournal.com]

Where do I start?

With the company's HR folks, explaining to them very gently and quietly that it's not in the company's best interest to rely on the SSN for such purposes, because that puts the company at some legal risk in case of identity theft.