Released: August 07, 2007

Congress looks to limit sale of SSNs

Source: Matthew Mogul,The Kiplinger Letter

Congress will soon restrict the sale of Social Security numbers, a legal practice that many believe is a major source of fraud. Lawmakers have increasingly blamed the rising number of identity theft cases on the largely unregulated sales of SSNs. And many agree with a recently released Government Accountability Office report stating that “vulnerabilities persist in federal laws addressing SSN collection and use by private sector entities.”

Still, in order to move against the practice, which will likely be part of a broader ID theft bill, the new Democratic majority will make concessions to Republican leaders who have blocked such efforts in the past by arguing that federal interference would end up crimping legitimate businesses, such as those in the financial service sector.

So, expect the law that gets passed to make exceptions.

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