CPF and SSN are just numbers that uniquely identify a person. The difference is that in Brazil, because of bureaucracy and fraud prevention, it is a lot harder

CPF and SSN are just numbers that uniquely identify a person. The difference is that in Brazil, because of bureaucracy and fraud prevention, it is a lot harder to use somebody else's data to your benefit. Which is just as well, because most Brazilians are not careful at all and will readily give out their data. I will give an example of how insane the bureaucracy can be: I once had to show my personal documents to an authority (ID, work card, driver's licence, certificate of birth, and so on). Because I was not born in Brazil, I was asked to show proof that I was Brazilian, to which I replied: how could I possibly have all this documentation and not be Brazilian? But it is getting better and government offices speak to each other (through databases and webservices) and so they can more easily identify a person and not require so much paperwork. Still, some older folks can't shake their mentality.