United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2003-07-10 monographic deposited born digital 16 p. GA 1.13:GAO-03-941T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-941T P0b002ee18037e9d0 f:d03941t DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-941T machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-941T GAO-03-941T Crime prevention Fraud Identity verification Internal controls Social security benefits Social security number Strategic planning Social Security Program Testimony A07501 In 1936, the Social Security Administration (SSA) established the Social Security Number (SSN) to track worker's earnings for social security benefit purposes. However, the SSN is also used for a myriad of non-Social Security purposes. Today, the SSN is used, in part, as a verification tool for services such as child support collection, law enforcement enhancements, and issuing credit to individuals. Although these uses of SSNs are beneficial to the public, SSNs are also a key piece of information in creating false identities. Moreover, the aggregation of personal information, such as SSNs, in large corporate databases, as well as the public display of SSNs in various public records, may provide criminals the opportunity to commit identity crimes. SSA, the originator of the SSN, is responsible for ensuring SSN integrity and verifying the authenticity of identification documents used to obtain SSNs. Although Congress has passed a number of laws to protect an individual's privacy, the continued use and reliance on SSNs by private and public sector entities and the potential for misuse underscores the importance of identifying areas that can be strengthened. Accordingly, this testimony focuses on describing (1) public and private sector use and display of SSNs, and (2) SSA's role in preventing the proliferation of false identities. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-941T/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-941T.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-941T/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-941T.pdf GAO-03-941T https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-03-941T Testimony GAO-03-941T; Social Security Numbers: Ensuring the Integrity of the SSN; Crime prevention Fraud Identity verification Internal controls Social security benefits Social security number Strategic planning Social Security Program