A sample card, used for display purposes, was placed in each wallet, which was sold by Woolworth and other department stores across the country; the wallet manufacturer's vice president and treasurer Douglas Patterson used the actual SSN of his secretary, Hilda Schrader Whitcher. In most cases, simply knowing your Social Security number is enough. An ever-growing number of computer networks let organizations sell, store, transfer and link our personal and business information -- usually without our knowledge or consent. SSN Verification. The amount of annual fraud, however, has been estimated at nearly a billion dollars. The new SSN card design utilizes both covert and overt security features created by the SSA and GPO design teams. [42] The SSA initiated an advertising campaign stating that it was incorrect to use the number (Hilda Whitcher was issued a new SSN). Get a certified copy of a document showing a birth, marriage or divorce that took place in the United States. The other reads "valid for work only with. It eliminated the significance of the highest group number assigned for each area number, and, as a result, the High Group List is frozen in time and can be used for validation of only those SSNs issued prior to the randomization implementation date. Numbers with all zeros in any digit group (. [45] SSN randomization affects the SSN assignment process. § 405(c)(2). Now, they are randomly generated. Similarly, social security numbers are often valued information for hackers to gain in attacks such as social engineering attacks, where attackers try and manipulate people into disclosing private information. [34] Before SSN randomization took effect, they represented a straight numerical sequence of digits from 0001 to 9999 within the group. This service is also not yet available if your driver’s license or identification card was issued by a U.S. territory (such as American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands). Are a U.S. citizen age 18 or older with a U.S. mailing address (this includes APO, FPO, and DPO addresses); Are not requesting a name change or any other change to your card; and. What You Can Learn From the Social Security Death Index . The Social Security number is a nine-digit number in the format "AAA-GG-SSSS". A social security number is issued by the United States Social Security Administration (SSA). Even though the card was printed in red (the real card is printed in blue) and had "specimen" printed across the front, many people used Whitcher's SSN as their own. It helps us identify and accurately record your covered wages or self-employment earnings. It says it has enough to last several generations without reuse or changing the number of digits. The Social Security number was created in 1935 as part of The New Deal as a program to provide for retirement and disability benefits for the old and infirm. Many citizens and privacy advocates are concerned about the disclosure and processing of Social Security numbers. U.S. Federal Census Collection. How to Stop Social Security Check Payments. Have a Social Security number; Have a U.S. mailing address; and ; Be at least 18 years of age. Such cards cannot be used as proof of work authorization, and are not acceptable as a List C document on the I-9 form. Among its changes, it eliminates the geographical significance of the first three digits of the SSN, previously referred to as the Area Number, by no longer allocating the Area Numbers for assignment to individuals in specific states. It has since come to be used as an identifier for individuals within the United States, although rare errors occur where duplicates do exist. A social Social security number is a unique number assigned by the government to every US citizen. Provide the deceased person's Social Security number to the funeral director so they can report the death to the SSA. But if you do need a replacement, we make it easy. [2], A Social Security number may be obtained by applying on Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Number Card. We cannot accept photocopies or notarized copies of documents. "How many Americans' Social Security numbers were officially duplicated for Pacific islanders? You should keep your Social Security card in a safe place with your other important papers and avoid giving it out unnecessarily. Your Social Security number remains your first and continuous link with Social Security. Employee, patient, student, and credit records are sometimes indexed by Social Security number. Some special numbers are never allocated: Until 2011, the SSA published the last group number used for each area number. To set up your account, go to: If you do not qualify to apply online for a card, please follow the instructions in the next section. The pension insurance number is identical to the social security number in Germany and is entered in the social security card. ; Collect the additional required forms and documentation (see table below). what documents you need, FILL OUT & PRINT Calculate your benefits based on your actual Social Security earnings record. [11] Today, an SSN is required regardless of the child's age to receive an exemption. As the areas assigned to a locality were exhausted, new areas from the pool were assigned, so some states had noncontiguous groups of numbers. One famous instance of this occurred in 1938 when the E. H. Ferree Company in Lockport, New York, decided to promote its product by showing how a Social Security card would fit into its wallets. To `` SSN randomization affects the SSN assignment process to `` SSN randomization affects the SSN process! 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