4 ms·
What's fun about SSNs is that proof of them having been leaked isn't sufficient to get a new one, you have to become the victim of fraud based on your SSN havin
by InclinedPlane 10y ago
What's fun about SSNs is that proof of them having been leaked isn't sufficient to get a new one, you have to become the victim of fraud based on your SSN having leaked to get a replacement.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- jdmichal 10y agoHonestly, that's somewhat understandable. Otherwise, there would be plenty of advice that you should rotate your SSN every year, just in case... While that would be an ideal final state, in our current state that's probably not a great idea. I suppose ideal final state would be some combination of a cryptographic certificate and a rotating security token ala RSA SecurID. The token is enough to verify that you possess the certificate, but has no unique value in-and-of itself.
- InclinedPlane 10y agoRight. But remember, this applies to cases where you can prove that your SSN has been stolen, which isn't enough to get a new one (if it were about 2/3 of Americans would be able to get one, most likely). The big problem is that the SSN is completely, utterly a bad idea in the 21st century, but nobody is working on a superior replacement because things aren't "that bad yet".
- pmoney 10y agoAnd even then, proof of fraudulent activity does not guarantee the issuance of a new number. It's a case-by-case basis.