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SSNs sit in a middle ground between being public and private. A large number of companies and organizations use it to both identify people and as proof of iden
by slg 5y ago
SSNs sit in a middle ground between being public and private. A large number of companies and organizations use it to both identify people and as proof of identity. Those are two separate functions.
When I go to a bank for a loan, I should give them some form of private id as proof I am who I say I am (this doesn't have to be a federally issued number).
When companies communicate about me with each other (such as running a credit check on me which is likely why T-Mobile even had SSNs) they should use my public id.
- lotsofpulp 5y agoThe only reason companies get away with using it as proof of identity is because the government allows them to hit your credit report with a debt without having to prove you engaged in a transaction, and then make it your problem to prove you never did what someone else is claiming you did. The solution is pretty simple, the government should require others to prove they engaged in a transition with you before being able to put an unpaid debt on your credit report, not the other way around.
- InitialLastName 5y ago> government allows them to hit your credit report with a debt You appear to be operating under a misunderstanding: The government doesn't organize credit reports. Credit reports (in the US, at least) are compiled by independent companies, who operate with very little oversight or recourse (and occasionally leak lots of data themselves).
- lotsofpulp 5y agoI know how they operate, but the government can create legislation to change things.
- sidewndr46 5y agoYou have the misunderstanding. Credit reports in the United States are compiled by independent companies regulated under the FCRA. This is a federal act that basically whitewashes all the trashy behavior by credit bureaus.