Many records posted online
By Bill Brubaker
The Washington Post
WASHINGTON -- Colin Powell's Social Security number is out there. So is Troy Aikman's. And that of Maryland Democratic Attorney General Douglas Gansler, among many others.
In an era when government officials from President Bush to local sheriffs warn of the growing dangers of identity theft, the full Social Security numbers of untold numbers of Americans can be found in file rooms and on Web sites run by, well, governments.
"This is very dangerous," Gansler said after learning that his number had been posted on a Maryland government-record site. "You know, a Social Security number is really the fingerprint to somebody's identification."
The Federal Trade Commission has estimated that 8.3 million Americans were victims of identity theft in 2005, the most recent for which data are available. But the crown jewel in identity theft -- the Social Security number -- can be mined easily in the government's own records, creating a measure of social insecurity for millions, according to identity experts.
Social Security numbers are readily available in many courthouses -- in land records and criminal and civil case files -- and also on many government Web sites that serve up public documents with a few clicks of the mouse. From state to state, and even within states, there is little uniformity in how access to the private information in these records is controlled.
A recent spot check found the nine-digit numbers -- introduced in 1936 to track employee earnings and benefits -- on hundreds of land deeds, death certificates, traffic tickets, creditors' filings and other documents related to civil and criminal court cases.
Old records spill secrets
Federal courts have banned the use of Social Security numbers from public documents since 2001. And in recent years, many jurisdictions have enacted laws or made rules barring various types of personal information from being filed with courts or government agencies. Most court Web sites in the Washington region list partial Social Security numbers or none at all.
However, millions of paper records were filed across the United States before the laws and rules took effect. Generally, such records are not covered by the prohibitions. And court clerks said it would be virtually impossible to redact all of the Social Security numbers.
"That's just plain nutty," said Wendy Jones, former acting clerk of Prince William County Circuit Court in Virginia. "I mean, we're talking about hundreds and hundreds of thousands of files in our court alone."
In Virginia's Loudoun County General District Court, Social Security numbers were found on documents filed in 38 of the 48 criminal cases heard by a judge on a recent day. The numbers were typed or written on summonses, arrest warrants, criminal complaints, and jail commitment and release orders, among other documents.
"I don't like it. I don't like it at all," said the court's clerk, Judith Waddell. "Would you like your Social Security number being disclosed to the public? I know I wouldn't."
A one-hour search of Maryland's land-record Web site found the Social Security numbers and signatures of two dozen property owners.
"It's alarming, because the government should be setting the example in really trying to protect people's private information," said state Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Montgomery. "Look, there's a whole criminal underground now that thrives on stealing people's credit cards and usurping their identity for as long as they can."
4 numbers in 15 minutes
A 15-minute search on the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation Web site found Social Security numbers on statements filed by creditors who had financed purchases by four consumers in Waldorf, Cambridge, Bowie and Landover in 2003 and 2004.
A dozen more numbers, including former Secretary of State Powell's, turned up on a Fairfax County, Va., site that requires a $25 monthly subscription fee.
A Texas land-record site had the Social Security number of Aikman, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and now a Fox Sports analyst.
Identity fraud has been around for centuries. But widespread use of credit cards and the growth of the Internet have led to a plague that costs businesses and individuals billions of dollars a year. And the problem took a giant leap in the public consciousness after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when it was revealed that several hijackers had used fraudulently obtained IDs to open bank accounts, rent apartments and board planes.
The federal government responded with a 2004 law that mandated prison sentences for people who use identity theft to commit other crimes and prohibited Social Security numbers from being displayed on newly issued driver's licenses.
Last spring a presidential task force called on federal agencies to "reduce the unnecessary use" of Social Security numbers, which it called "the most valuable commodity for an identity thief."
But with a few keystrokes, anybody can view the deed to Jamie and Sarah Raskin's house in Takoma Park, Md.
Jamie Raskin, a state senator, said that when he refinanced the house in 1994, he gave no thought to the two Social Security numbers printed on his deed. But last March, he got a call from Betty "B.J." Ostergren, an activist from central Virginia who pushes lawmakers and government agencies to take sensitive personal data off state-run Web sites.
"She said, 'Do you know I was able to find your Social Security number and other private information about you and your wife online?' " Raskin said. "I was shocked, and I briefly flipped out, because, you know, these are days when everybody's privacy is under assault."
Helping criminals out
Ostergren's site, thevirginiawatchdog.com, offers dozens of examples of public figures whose Social Security numbers have appeared in public records in recent years. They include former CIA Director Porter Goss.
"The government loves to spoon-feed criminals by putting these dern records on their Web sites," Ostergren said.
Raskin said he plans to call for legislation that would give Maryland residents the right to request redaction of their Social Security numbers from public records.
"The public certainly has the right to know who owns a particular property," he said. "But I don't think the public has the right to know what that person's Social Security number is."
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