U.S. May Restrict Sale of Social Security Numbers

Reuters on Yahoo ^ | 3/15/05 | Andy Sullivan

[NormsRevenge]

Private firms gathering and selling information about you to make a profit... w/o supervision or clear guidelines.

BRILLIANT!!!

[NormsRevenge]

[agitator]

[Texas_Jarhead]

I'd like to see some safeguards against the transfer or this kind of info. over seas as well as limitations on accessibility based upon geography/US jurisdiction.

[Texas_Jarhead]

over + seas = overseas

[spyone]

Nevermind the transfer of this info, the COLLECTION of this info. without my consent should be illegal!

[politicalwit]

"Private firms gathering and selling information about you to make a profit... w/o supervision or clear guidelines."

Numerous state DMV's sell personal information. They too should be included.

[Danae]

Ooooo What an idea, DON'T SELL OTHERS PERSONAL INFORMATION! Make it illegal, protect the people for once! What a concept! </sarcasm>

[Texas_Jarhead]

I completely agree but of course any application for credit that you've ever filled out contains clauses that allow such collection and transfer. Hell just about anything having to do with finance includes such clauses to which one eventually agrees if they desire to transact business.

[anymouse]

Legislation by crisis.

Why is it that Congress is always right there to close the barn door, well after all of the livestock has skipped town?

Had B of A not lost government official's SS info. Congress would still be blindly oblivious to the need to ensure citizens' private data is protected.

Of course the Rats will demand that a government agency be in charge of controlling this data, rather than merely helping the industry establish appropriate privacy protection, ID fraud prevention, and data security guidelines. As badly as ChoicePoint handled things, more government bureaucracy will certainly make it worse and less secure.

[Electrowoman]

Wow. I didn't even know that my social security number was for sale. I guess that's because I never put it up for sale. So how much to buy it back? Destoyed credit and mountains of debt incurred by some criminal? Doesn't sound like a fair deal, especially since I never got the $$ from the sale in the first place.

[Danae]

Your SSN might be sold by your mortgage company. It is all in the fine print they make you sogn off on. Anytime you give out that number, you are taking the risk that it might be sold along with all your personal information to a thrid party. All by that simple little signature at the bottom of the page. You REALLY have to read what you sign now-a-days.

[paul51]

How the hell did we ever get to the point where peoples SS numbers are being bought and sold. Unbelievable. I am thoroughly disgusted

[1066AD]

Your social security number should be between you, your employer(s) and the Feds, no one else.

Likewise for Drivers' License number, between you and the issuing agency/jurisdictions.

If private commerce wants an ID system, let them develop their own to which we as consumers can subscribe or not as we see fit.

[biff]

How the hell do I just "tune out and drop out"??? Hmmm, let's see, if I don't owe any money nor ask to borrow any, don't have credit cards, could I just disappear? Aw crap, I got a drivers license, but heck, all I gotta do is get a fake SS card like illegals do and use it to get a fake drivers license, then can I just disappear?

[Route101]

Well DUH!!!...hello government!....move your big bureaucratic Butt!

[longtermmemmory]

for those who are interested in property rights,

there is teh legal concept of the "property of your person".

Is you personal information your property? Do you own yourself? Do you have a right to be secure in controlling the property of your person?

I think it is fair to restrict the sale of a persons social security number in much the same way we regulate the sale of kidneys.

[ex 98C MI Dude]

What are law enforcement agencies doing buying consumer profiles? They have NO business doing that without a warrant, and if they have a warrant, they have no need to buy the info. Inquiring minds wish to know.

[tomball]

Property rights? Everyone has rights to my property except me. If I had 1 penny for every piece of junk mail, telephone call, email spam, etc. that I receive(d) due to my private information being sold to these yahoos without my permission, I could retire. If these goons who sell my name and information were forced to pay me a per centage for using and selling my name and personal information, there would be a whole lot less junk mail, scams, spams, crank calls, etc. to contend with. If that isn't bad enough, the same yahoos that buy and sell your name and private info, also have a tendency of losing it to the wrong people.

Now, privacy rights - that is another issue, but closely related. My name is my property, along with my credit history, assets, etc. It is my humble opinion that many other people seem to believe the same. However, by government mandate we are forced to divulge private information to our employers, doctors, dentists, etc. every time we need a check up or to get our teeth cleaned. We are forced to provide private information about ourselves that in turn must be made readily available to any government agency that inquires, and we are forced to sign a form that indicates we acknowledge we have "privacy rights" under a Clinton endorsed "privacy" act. The medical forms we sign specifically state that our "private" information could be submitted for use by other doctors, insurance companies, and/or government agencies for security purposes. These agencies are the very ones who hire companies like "ChoicePoint" to analyze and scrutinize our private data only to lose it to hackers.

Lawmakers should be paying the taxpayers for their personal information - not billing the taxpayers for their personal information then selling it to the first group who comes along to fill a campaign coffer.

Excuse me ... don't mean to rant. But I agree with your opinion. Our social security numbers were never meant to be sold, and should not be sold under any circumstance.