Identity Theft: Who Took The “Security” Out Of Social Security Numbers?
More Identity Theft Headlines Pertaining To Social Security Numbers
It seems that nearly every month there is a new headline regarding some breach involving social security numbers. Recently, an unfortunate situation in California made headlines. It appears that social security numbers of an incredibly large number of California residents were made available through the Secretary of State’s website. Why is this such a big deal and how did it happen?
The Holy Grail of Identity Theft Scumbags
Social security numbers are vital pieces of information to identity theft criminals, and those individuals whose social security numbers appeared online are at risk for identity theft now and in the upcoming years.
Experiencing identity theft is no walk in the park. The time investment that one would need to spend correcting the problem is essentially a fulltime job. The theft of your social security number is a paramount concern because you only have one social security number throughout your entire life. It is not a like a phone number that you could change to maintain privacy.
In California, the social security numbers made available were done so through Uniform Commercial Code filings, which were filed by lenders securing loans. Unfortunately, this breach will potentially affect millions of Californians.
What to Do
If you are a California resident and think you might have been affected by this breach of confidentiality, you should check with the Secretary of State’s office.
Keep in mind that if someone gets a hold of your social security number, that person doesn’t always immediately use it. Even if identity theft doesn’t happen right away, it doesn’t mean it won’t happen later.
Even if you don’t live in California or even on the West Coast, your risk of identity theft is still there regardless of whether or not your social security number has ever been posted inadvertently on the internet.
Every state government has your social security number on file. They are supposed to maintain that database in a secure manner so as not to promote identity theft. That doesn’t mean everything is managed the way it should be.