Skookum
05-10-2005, 04:09 PM
5/10/2005
Dear **********,
As you may have read in my column this month, with just your name and Social Security number a crook can steal your identity, open new charge accounts, and wreak havoc on your credit record.
While you may be careful to safeguard your Social Security number, this information is easily available to identity thieves looking for their next victim. It's no wonder the Federal Trade Commission estimates that nearly 10 million Americans became identity theft victims last year.
Tell Congress to clamp down on the widespread use of Social Security numbers that leaves all of us so vulnerable to being ripped off by identity thieves.
Social Security numbers were never meant to become a de facto national identifier, but that's exactly what has happened. Your nine-digit Social Security number could be on file in the databases of your bank, insurance company, local department store, doctor's office, various government agencies, schools you attended, and countless other businesses.
Lately, there's been plenty of news about how the personal data held in these databases is falling into the hands of crooks. And if that's not bad enough, your Social Security number - and the key to your identity - can be bought for as little as $35 on internet web sites that sell personal data culled from public records. Social Security numbers appear on Medicare cards and are sometimes used on driver's licenses, student IDs, and health insurance cards.
Enough is enough. Urge Congress to pass comprehensive identity theft safeguards for consumers that include new rules to limit the use of Social Security numbers by companies and government agencies that puts your identity at risk.
Sincerely,
Jim Guest
President
Consumers Union of the U.S.
101 Truman Ave.
Yonkers, NY 10703
https://secure2.convio.net/cu/site/Advocacy?id=495&page=UserAction&s_src=dclk&s_subsrc=17645112
You may also contact us with your comments at idtheft@cu.consumer.org.
Dear **********,
As you may have read in my column this month, with just your name and Social Security number a crook can steal your identity, open new charge accounts, and wreak havoc on your credit record.
While you may be careful to safeguard your Social Security number, this information is easily available to identity thieves looking for their next victim. It's no wonder the Federal Trade Commission estimates that nearly 10 million Americans became identity theft victims last year.
Tell Congress to clamp down on the widespread use of Social Security numbers that leaves all of us so vulnerable to being ripped off by identity thieves.
Social Security numbers were never meant to become a de facto national identifier, but that's exactly what has happened. Your nine-digit Social Security number could be on file in the databases of your bank, insurance company, local department store, doctor's office, various government agencies, schools you attended, and countless other businesses.
Lately, there's been plenty of news about how the personal data held in these databases is falling into the hands of crooks. And if that's not bad enough, your Social Security number - and the key to your identity - can be bought for as little as $35 on internet web sites that sell personal data culled from public records. Social Security numbers appear on Medicare cards and are sometimes used on driver's licenses, student IDs, and health insurance cards.
Enough is enough. Urge Congress to pass comprehensive identity theft safeguards for consumers that include new rules to limit the use of Social Security numbers by companies and government agencies that puts your identity at risk.
Sincerely,
Jim Guest
President
Consumers Union of the U.S.
101 Truman Ave.
Yonkers, NY 10703
https://secure2.convio.net/cu/site/Advocacy?id=495&page=UserAction&s_src=dclk&s_subsrc=17645112
You may also contact us with your comments at idtheft@cu.consumer.org.