It must also be stated that the system is at fault and more specifically the credit reporting agencies. They, I am sure, earn vast amount of money keeping files on us with little or no responsibility to the accuracy of that data.

It is way past time that all agencies (commercial & Federal) have a liability to ensure the data they hold & release to 3rd parties is accurate and truthful, If it is not they should have to pay the restitution.

They would of course cry foul that it would cost them to much to ensure data is correct, but how much does it cost us when they get it wrong. Which by all accounts is most of the time.

Prove you data or shut up

(or as momma said if you cant say anything nice don't say anything at all)

The web is the biggest wave of crime in the world. It has more scams, More pornograffy then anywhere. The web has some good purposes, but the bad outwieghs the good by a long shot.

Wow, Phil your mom must have known my mom, she had the exact same thing to say ..... LOL LOL LOL Seriously

Illegal immigration is the number one cause of identity theft.

When will obama connect the dots and realize illegal immigrants are breaking the laws of the USA?

Oh, he knows they're breaking the laws. And it doesn't bother him one bit. If he can get all the illegals amnesty, he'll have a few million more democrats.... and more importantly, democrats that are motivated to Vote.

longhair it is not illegal for illgals to steal your id they have to have it..get with the progressive program man

Yeah it is actually the Russians that are doing this on a highest level and scale.

There are plenty of US citizens that take or buy others information for financial gain. But the ones getting that information in bulk is 9 times out of ten Russian Mob or affiliates. Russians have the most elite hacker groups in the world, reason being that they have no laws against those crimes.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2011/04/20/ri_russian_man_arraigned_on_identity_theft_charges/

http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/blog/identity-theft/russian-mob-may-have-infiltrated-university-computers

http://www.identitytheftlabs.com/identity-theft/russian-mafia-steals-500000-bank-and-credit-accounts/

http://rt.com/news/identity-theft-internet-russia/

The biggest protectors of the credit reporting industry are GOP Congressmen from low-regulation states who make millions of dollars off these crooks by letting them run rampant over consumers.

These companies are a scam with no legal responsibility for the information they publish - even though it unfairly ruins many lives.

Why do we put up with these thugs and their paid legislative lackeys? They are one of the biggest cancers on American society.

When will obama connect the dots and realize illegal immigrants are breaking the laws of the USA?

From your statement, the problem of illegal immigration must have only just begun in the last 2 years! Sorry...it's been going on LONGGGGG before that! And no other President has addressed it!

RealAmericansFirst

You are absolutely correct.

Also I might add that you do not have to be inside the USA to hack a network system in order to retrieve this data.

The data is stolen by highly sophisticated hackers operating outside the US for the most part.

So explain to me how it is that illegal immigrants are mostly responsible for all of this when it is hackers that live and operate outside the US that do this for the most part. And the ones that are in the US are actually US citizens.

Sounds like some racial innuendo there.

i completly agree with this thread

The banking system is totally at fault, it is simple to match a name and birth date and sex to a SS number; they do not take the time, or pay a small fee, they just want to make the loan; before I retired, we started a separate investigation unit, just to deal with ID theft, within 6 months it was so overwhelmed with complaints, we could not staff it any longer; local law enforcement does not even try anymore; when we would notify a credit card or bank of a proved ID theft, they would not even report it , since it might affect their loan portfolio, it is so widespread, that it is in the many many billions of dollars; all because the banking system is to lazy to even check !

Folks, remember this is a nation of WE THE PEOPLE.

so if we the people want to stop allowing the banks to screw us over, which is exactly whats happening here...then I suggest that WE THE PEOPLE make it so that it doesnt cost a damn thing for the banks to verify we are who we say we are when we fill out a credit ap.

Question, anyone think the housing bubble/burst - might have been because of this very thing? Didnt that guy buy 3 houses prior to 2008 using false data? You think he's the only one?

I've seen a SLEW of credit card applications show up in the past month...and I predicted this would be part of our "recovery", which will simply become the next bubble the bursts...and those very banks handing out OUR MONEY no questions asked, will turn to the american taxpayer and demand another bailout.

Either we demand the law changes, or we are all collectively screwed in the end. These crooks arent just taking play money, they are taking YOUR MONEY. no other way to put it.

Does this mean it is not a requirement that a SSN matche the birth date, age and name attached to it? Perhaps this is over simplistic, but if I were an identity thief, I would think I would need your SSN, birth date, and name to impersonate/create/use your credit profile. It should be impossible for an ID thief to mix and match your SSN with other, bogus data.

or...we can fight it by not participating in worrying about credit scores...especially for kids. They are not responsibile for paying, so the financial firms lose the money....make them fix their own problems for giving credit to frauds.

And I have had a "bad" credit score, and I have told banks fine, don't give me credit...and life goes on just fine (and my credit score is now great in spite of their problems)

Jbond - in the video piece, they made it sound like the bank doesnt verify WHO you are. They just run the credit check, and if the rating is good...they are happy to lend money to whoever is applying.

But, in all the times that banks have ran checks on me - they showed me the report that came back, with my name on it.

So, im scratching my head on this one too.

John "or...we can fight it by not participating in worrying about credit scores...especially for kids. They are not responsibile for paying, so the financial firms lose the money....make them fix their own problems for giving credit to frauds."

Im pretty sure that one girl had to file bankruptcy - SHE had to, the bank didnt just say "oh our bad, we'll eat this one".

either taxpayer money is paying for this, or OUR money is via those banks. That is not the banks money, its the people who put their money in that bank. Maybe you dont have a checking account, or a job, and therefore have no skin in this game? But I have both, and therefore...this bothers me greatly.

The burden for preventing this type of theft should not fall on the parents or the children, it should be the responsibility of the lenders, i.e. banks to verify that the SSN matches the personal information of the applicant.

Here again the banks are screwing the people. They don't want to pay the small fee to run a check to verify that the identity of the borrower matches the SSN. Clearly this is fraud aided and abetted by the lending institutions because they are not legally required to perform just basic due diligence.

People on this post who want to make this Obama's fault for allowing illegal immigration are totally out to lunch on this one, as usual.

What a CLUSTER-F this country is b/c nobody wants to take responsibility for something that is needed and has been for years.

A "National Identity" card!!!!!!!! That would eliminate this as well as illegal immigration and a majority of other problems.

All parents can learn a lesson from this.

Your kid has a SS#....run a free credit report on a semi-annual basis. It's not hard and takes mere minutes.

If something fishy pops up, have the credit reporting agencies flag the SS#.

Marv, banks do check out SS# and DOB. It is part of the Patriot Act. Have you seen all of the banks being shut down, they are the ones that don't. But don't lump all banks together. I work for a fantastic bank that takes responsibiltiy and checks against several watch databases. I get soooo tired of people bashing all banks for the actions of a few.

While illegals do use social security numbers illicitly, it is not usually for the purpose of credit fraud. It usually is for the purpose of employment and paying taxes, of which no refund is usually sought.

Credit scams are usually perpetuated by Americans, often crack and meth heads.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4460349/

Excerpt...Meanwhile, police officers around the country say nearly every time they bust an ID theft ring, the criminals are meth addicts.

Try the TransUnion link mentioned in the article. The process was very easy.

And they all thank you for playing the game so they can continue to run credit score services.

If you kids have bad credit ...it will self remedy.

Longhair -

Obama and others will do nothing; they risk the Latino vote. Blood is thicker than water - and citizenship, when it comes to Mexico.

Besides, why are you a racist? Those illegals just want better lives for their families! Everyone who desires this should have an inherent right to come to the US, legally or not, at the expense of legal US citizens!

At least, according to SOME deluded posters here.

National Identity card would fix all of this.

You are right HIGHSPD, but our fellow Republican-Corporationists are still blocking funds for the bill ( I believe it had been around since 2002, correct me if Im wrong ).

Nice piece of info.However its not something new. These kind of reports appear once in a while when Republican's are down in the polls.

• WOULD THE MEDIA EVER DARE TO PUBLISH ONE ARTICLE talking about those companies that use your credit to improve another's bad credit for a small payment ?

I bet NOT, but I could be wrong. If so, I would like to see them the proof me wrong.

Nobody wants to take resposibility.NOBODY.Too scared of the "Big Brother" fallout.People need to realize that.How many problems could be cured with that one simple solution? Sure,the expense would be tremendous in the beginning but the benefits would pay that back in no time.

-Illegal immigration would stop and it would be like turning the light on and roaches scattering.No N.I.D. card,NO JOB,NO SCHOOL,NOTHING!!!!!!!! They would have to leave the country to get a job.Not just the ones from Mexico,but every single one of them.

-ID theft,a thing of the past.

But that would mean someone(a large group)would have to grow some balls and get it done within a four year period if they were worried about the polls.For that matter,you couldn't vote either without one.I bet it would take all of about 2 months to clear out this country of all illegals with no work and no freebies.That's the biggest non-lethal bomb you could possibly drop!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is just one more reason we need to dep[ort all the illegal alien scum and build that damm fence out of electrified wire

We need to deport all the illegals along with their anchor babies.

And how much you want to bet those 2 men are in this country ILLEGALLY? Now that poor girl's credit is ruined because of greedy people who come to this country to take away from American citizens.

Oh, twenty thousand bucks says it's so. The media is just "forgot" to post that little detail.
Care to ante up, anyone?????

Yeah the one guy with the shaved head was driving what looked like a brand new Chevy Silverado too. Makes sense how he got that. Deport them NOW!

I always wondered how they were driving around in brand new Toyota Tundras. I thought it was because they paid cash. Guess I was wrong.

Social Security numbers should include the the zip code where your birth certificate is located and or naturalization number.

This greatly reduces the probability of identity fraud and makes it easier to validate someones background.

Then come up with harsher penalties for people who get caught trying to obtain this information illegally.

Your social security numbers should only be used when paying taxes. We should be issued a different set of numbers for credit.

Of course - all crooks are illegal aliens, right? No American citizens would engage in identity theft for profit?

What about this guy?:

Huge identity theft ring busted

Help-desk worker alleged point man in theft of 30,000 IDs

Or this woman?

New Details Revealed on Identity Theft Ring

Hospital Investigator Credited With Tracking Down Suspect

DULUTH, Ga. -- Duluth Police credit a hospital investigator with helping them arrest a Suwanee woman accused of stealing the identities of nearly 6,000 people. They fear there are thousands more victims.

Or these guys:

$5M identity theft ring in Staten Island targeted soldiers overseas

A Staten Island-based identity theft ring stole millions of dollars from dozens of New Yorkers - and even targeted troops overseas, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

The intricate scheme stretched as far as Fort Hood, Tex., where the scammers stole the identities of about 20 troops, including some deployed overseas. Prosecutors said 29-year-old Bronx native Kevin Marshall, who was stationed at the base, helped get inside information for the group.

Focusing on illegal aliens is just a convenient way of avoiding the truth about your own country.

Nate 007: the first three digits of your SS represent the zip code where the card was applied for. For a complete explanation of what the digits mean, check out this link (and in case the link doesn't post, go to dubdubdub.howstuffworks.com/social-security-number2.htm)

I dont doubt they are illegals, but you'll notice - they had american jobs right?

and im betting some conservative argued that its too "costly" for businesses to verify that the soc sec # a person provides is theirs.

and im betting they got those soc's so they could get jobs.

Seems we could fix a whole lot of problems by holding the institutions (banks, employers) responsible for verifying data - and then reporting anyone who presents false data to the police.

its all too logical.

@commonsensedude Problem is, there will always be a way around (under, over, etc.) that. Only a more extreme solution could prevent illegal immigration, and even then, how long would it work?

Nice piece of info.However its not something new. These kind of reports appear once in a while when Republican's are down in the polls.

• WOULD THE MEDIA EVER DARE TO PUBLISH ONE ARTICLE talking about those companies that use your credit to improve another's bad credit for a small payment ?

I bet NOT, but I could be wrong. If so, I would like to see any member of the mainstream media to proof me wrong.

lol armiejessi PLEASE tell me you are not 1 of the many rednecks i know here in Missouri who steal identities just to avoid paying child support or the guy who wanted to get a new id saying he was 16 when he was actually closer to 30. I don't understand why the hell anyone would want to make themselves younger, just to go back to high school while the real disabled kid is home schooled. come on

thessdd

Nate 007: the first three digits of your SS represent the zip code where the card was applied for.

That doesn't make sense. I live in Washington State, born in Washington State and there is not one zip code in Washington State that starts with a 5.

Am I reading your post wrong???

@jewish pride.

Excuse me?

First off all I am a FEMALE. Second of all, a Veteran and I have a degree and speak 3 languages. It seems to me you are the one who needs to go back to High School and learn how to spell.

Where does 75% come from? Is is an actual statistic or just your opinion?

For a little edification the most likely group of people to be stealing your CC#'s and identities are Russians and not in our country. The Russian business network (aka Russian Mob) are the biggest credit card thieves in the world and their entire business model is based on stolen identities and dumped card data. They do it all from their country not ours.

Both of you need to furnish your source of info.

I once knew a woman, an American born citizen, who stole her own children's SSN's after she could no longer get credit using her own. I've spoken to others who had stories of the same situation. Sad, but true.

JustMeSayingMyThing

I have to agree, seems like people here are using this as an anti-Mexican song and dance to slip in some racial innuendo.

Russians are the number one source for identity theft, and they are one of the highest sources if not the highest source of elite hackers.

Here is one link for you nonbelievers.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2011/04/20/ri_russian_man_arraigned_on_identity_theft_charges/

http://www.fightidentitytheft.com/blog/identity-theft/russian-mob-may-have-infiltrated-university-computers

http://www.identitytheftlabs.com/identity-theft/russian-mafia-steals-500000-bank-and-credit-accounts/

http://rt.com/news/identity-theft-internet-russia/

I don't know where you are finding your source for the 75%. My experience when my identity was stolen (as an adult) it was related to a large gang of meth addicts who stole identities to support their habit. The court and prosecutor of my case, in which there where hundreds of people and businesses that got targeted, most of the cases they saw were drug related.

I have one suggestion for the family in the story, since you can't get the police interested in your plight (I had the same problem) see if you can get the United States Postal Service involved. I am sure there has been mail sent from or to these thieves related to the mortgages or cars where the fraud has been perpetuated. Now it is a federal crime. That is who arrested the group who stole my identity. They served federal time.

I agree. I was livid when I visited my retired parents in FL and my mother told me about how these illegal women come here and get welfare. The groups that support these ppl tell them, very clearly, how to apply for all kinds of "free" money from our government. To them that is all it is - FREE. Forget that it is really our tax dollars. Ppl need to wake up! These illegal ticks are sucking our country dry. Some of them may be paying taxes and not filing a tax return but I can bet that they take out way more in free healthcare, housing, schooling - yes, it costs our school districts crazy amounts of money trying to teach to these kids who don't speak English. They get special teachers, classes and FREE lunches - all on our dime. The illegal problem won't stop until our government quits the free handouts. Our "commander in chief" needs to start caring about the American Tax-Paying Citizens of this country and not the illegal minority!

Where I live, I know a whole bunch of white - american born women, doing all the things you mention.

It seems its not so much a racial thing, as its a lazy ass thing.

Entitlement knows no color, nor does ignorance. My friend works for DHS, and it's all races milking the system...popping out more babies for a bigger check, no one racial group owns this one.

Check your racial hatred at the door please...its embarrassing.

First of all, you can't get housing or free health care or any other type of assistance from the goverment being an "illegal alien" also, if you drive by the shelters hardly any of those people are latinos same as when you are driving and there is a homeless guy standing on the side of the road holding up a sign asking for money NOT LATINOS! If there was an amnesty or any way to help "illegal aliens" the States would actually benefit from it. Everyone is always blaming the Latinos for this type of things but, what about the other immigrants?? the ones who the goverment DOES help?? do you remember them? the terrorists? the ones ACTUALLY harming your country?

Oh my... You have no clue of what goes on! Yes they do get free everything in so
many ways. I live in Los Angeles and all around me I see every single day how
they get all this government help for FREE.

I am an immigrant, too, but I came here legally and pay all my taxes like every
good citizen in this Country and obey the law. I know there are a lot of people
that come here like me, with the same good intentions and willingness to create
a better life, but many more do not.

It would be too long to explain and prove everything I write, but believe me, they
do! I know so many people that do all of the below and it disgusts me. We pay
taxes to help the poor, but when we make a little bit above the poverty line,
we don't get any help!!

They get the brand new section 8 houses with super low monthly rent. They get
welfare, WIC and food coupons. How? Several people live in the same house with
only one person's income, so they prove they do not make enough money. They get Medicaid and Medicare; I have seen the application and you do not need a SSN, nor legal status to get it. You do not need to be here legally to have all
this; for example it is enough to have a baby here and the government helps you
because your baby is a citizen. They make up SSNs so they can get jobs, open
bank accounts and whatever they need. If the employer or the bank finds out,
they just move on to the next employer or bank that won't check it. Even if
they get caught, nothing happens to them as they have nothing to lose: no
properties on their name, no car on their name (they drive it without a license
or insurance, but it is on a friend or relative's name), nothing they can lose
as they live day by day and often cannot even save money for any emergency.

They are not on the streets asking for money because they already get all the help from the government! They do not need our "spare change""!!

Please open your eyes and realize that if an amnesty is given, like it happened
already in the 80's, more of them will keep coming in with the hope that some
time in the future they will get a legal status. This is what happened already
and what they want now.

On top of this, so many of them have been living here for 20-30 years and do not
speak a word of English!! There are plenty of schools everywhere in LA where
they give free English classes to anyone, daytime, nights and week-ends and
they even offer free childcare for your babies while you learn English, but
no... they do not need to speak English because everybody (including me!)
speaks their language! And where are those babies? The mothers stay home and
they let them loose on the streets, where they grow up to become the next
gangbanger as nobody taught them good morals and respect for others. I see it every day where I live. Including those kids that keep on making the graffiti I see
from my window.

So many good American citizens do not have a clue of what really goes on in the US and this is so sad...

While the creidt bureaus "advertise" that they are there to help, I find the direct is opposite. I had to correct some data on my report; I had two accounts that I never opened that were in default and one bureau had my name and another name (spelled similarly) for the other two. I found out the other two bureaus were pulling someone else's file (similar spelling of name) but putting it under my SSN.

When I contacted them, all three were..."we can't do anyhting unless you send us proof that the accounts weren't yours and we need a birth cert and notarization from the state of birth as to the correct name and a notarized letter from Social Security to verify the correct SSN." Despite having everything to all three bureas in about 14 days, it still took three years to get the reports straightened out.

OMG Tonya - what a nightmare! Why is it that the VICTIM always seems to be the one who has to clean up the mess? Hello? a 3 year old can't even enter into a contract on their own! For crying out loud!

Like hell you were responsible for paying off that debt!

Your mother belongs in jail!

And Lynn - funny how long it takes THEM to correct their own mistakes but they are very, very quick to enter into our records when WE do.

Bjs65, Going off onto a tangent here but you brought up that a 3 year old can't enter into a contract on their own makes me think of this. If you want something from an electronics store, just have someone under 16 or so go in with cash and pay for it. It is then able to be returned and reimbursed if it doesn't work. I learned this when I bought a video game when I was 15 and when I openned it, it was scratched and wouldn't play. I brought it back to Walmart and explained it to them. I brought it back the same day. And since they didn't have another copy instock they told my I was SOL (even though I know now that their policy is to give store credit back). Then a friend of my parents who just past his bar exam told me that they had to give my money back because I wasn't able to enter into the contract with them (which a return policy is). I went back to Walmart and the person at the service desk didn't believe me and called the Manager and the manager was trying to keep this a secret because no one knows about it.

Wow Jack! Why am I not surprised the manager wanted to keep that a secret!

I'm glad you got your money back!

So that is why they try to get their cashiers to only accept payment from the adult if there is one. Next time you go to buy something say around $50, try to have your child buy it if they are legally able to (not alcohol or rated M games) and most cashiers will try to get you to hand them the money and not your child. The ones that don't probably haven't heard of this rule. If you hand them the money, you purchased it, if your kid does, s/he purchased it. They don't like hearing about this because it is an easy rule to abuse. You could just have your kid go in, buy a cd and then go out to your car to put it on your computer then have your child go back in and get another one because they can't hold him legally to the return policy.

That's real smart Jackal50.....teaching your child how to steal music from a store.

LoneRanger, I said that one reason stores don't like that rule or retailers don't like the idea is because of abuse. I didn't say I did that nor will I teach my child to do it.

The point made in the segment is that the lenders only check the SS #'s credit rating & don't verify the name associated with the #. It's an easy step & would identify cases of identity theft right away. Shame on the lenders.

That's my thought too. I thought it was difficult to get credit without credit! I remember the first time I wanted to buy on credit, I needed a co-signer in the form or a legal adult! Does this not occur anymore?

The "fix" for this is really very simple: one-to-one/person-to-person contact for any sort of credit transaction; more than one source of identification for any job application; valid reference checks; and tough penalites for offenders--this includes the (so-called) applicant as well at the lender or employer.

Yes, it will be just a bit more "human" work, instead of all machines and computers, (and outsourced jobs), but on the other side of the coin, it will save the lenders a huge chunk (because, ultimately, they are going to be the ones stuck with the bills); some folks will get a job checking out the credit and job applications; and fewer people will be defrauded.

It's not perfect, but it's better than the mail-in application with anyone's SSN attached. Besides, on the SSN card, it says NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION PURPOSES. It should never have been used as an identity verification. A picture ID, issued by the state, and verified by the issuing agency, should be just one of at least three identification items. If they don't add up or verify, then no credit or job. (It's not a perfect solution, but it would majorly curtail the vast amount of fraud currently going on.)

We've all seen where a cat or dog gets a platinum card application. Yeah right. It's time to stop this foolishness. It's a little more work to do it my way, but the rewards would be greater.

zapper, they took that language off of SSN cards now. My son was born just over a month ago and it doesn't say that on his.

Mine's a little old (so am I. LOL)

Mine says it too zapper but my kids doesn't. But you're right. It was never meant to be an ID and turned in to it. It needs to stop! SSN's should go back to their original purposes. What's the fix? I don't know, but something must be done!

A number of years ago, I noted that banks weren't able to identify who their customers were anymore. Used to be, when you walked in (not drive thru, no atm), they knew who you were.

Then that stopped.

I instantly recognized that "identity theft" was an attempt to off-load the burden of detecting the fraud from the institution to the individual (who wasn't even involved). I was told I was wrong.

It's getting worse. Loss credit hurts, but you CAN sue the credit reporting companies. (Threats will help get your credit status resolved) BTW: it doesn't matter if you know the person or not, the one keeping the file on you and is the credit reporting agency.

With the current mood of the country, this won't change quickly. I suspect this issue won't be fixed until a senator's son has his credit stolen.

I'm not a lawyer, but the way I understand the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) is that you can only sue the credit reporting agency if they fail to follow the rules in FCRA. That means if you detect fraud on your credit report, and you tell the credit reporting agencies about that fraud, all they have to do is - after the problem has occured - make appropriate notations on your file that fraud is involved. Of course they're going to do that. But as for your damages because the fraud occurred, the FCRA protects the credit reporting agencies, and the fools who gave credit under your name to someone else. We need the FCRA amended to allow individuals to sue the fools who give the credit in the wrong name -- only then will this problem be solved.

Take a look at your SSN, does anything on there look like a date of issuance? I can't think of any way that the last 4-6 digits of mine indicates any date or even year. But, that doesn't mean that some or all of the parts of an SSN are not some kind of meaningful value that can be guessed.

In any case, it's a mistake to try and code meaningful information into an identifier. For one thing, it's possible that the format of the embedded information might need to be changed, which means making a new version of the identifier, usually by making it longer. The other problem is the one we see with the SSN: if information is coded into an identifier, then it's possible that an attacker can gain useful information and also create other valid identifiers. Using a completely random identifier helps prevent this kind of misuse.

One thing I can tell you for sure is that the first 3 digits of your social security indicate the state or territory where the applicant lives at the time of issuance. For example: 400 401 402 404 and I'm sure others are from Kentucky, 040 041 042 043 044 are Connecticut. Since it is true that the first 3 digits have some predictable significance, it's not unreasonable to assume that there is some algorithmic method to the rest of the number and it's highly unlikely that the remaining 6 digits are random.

Actually, the social security site tells you some information on how the numbers are derived.

http://genealogy.about.com/od/social_security/a/numbers.htm

The above listed site tells how the first three digits locate the part of the country one is located in. It also provides links to other identifiers and explanations. It is very detailed, and explains what the numbers mean.

I heartily agree. Is should be impossible to use someones SSN for anything without the name & birth date matching. Furthermore, isn't it already illegal for anyone under 16 to enter into any kind of contract without approval from a guardian/parent?

It's a shame you have to pay a fee at all to do that!

Those two guys just happen to be the people using this particular kid's SS#. I'm sure they got it from a 3rd party. They are the first who should be prosecuted.

AMG - How is it prejudice to throw criminals in jail?

The one guy at autoshop was driving a brand new chevy silverado. Those things are expensive. I know I couldnt afford one right now but with help, he was able to apparently.

How come the credit agencies don't correlate a date of birth on credit applications, a baby cant write let alone apply for credit.

AMG,

Why should NBC be tracking down these criminals. All of us LEGAL US citizens pay taxes for protection by our Local, State and Federal Law Enforcement. These agencies are set up to protect us and are not doing their job. Whatever town in AZ that these two scumbags live in every resident should be calling the local police and complaining that there is a thief at the local car shop & Dollar Store. Call everyday until the police go down and arrest them for theft.

Luckily our news networks are providing information that we can use to protect our children from these predators.

AMG: It's fascinating how you can turn this issue into an issue of racism...I live in Arizona...we are the identity theft capital of the US...it's not rocket science to figure out why...notice my name?...I'm obviously do not have a problem with "brown" people...before you post your stupid and thoughtless comments which are extremely slanderous to those of us that live here Arizona, think about what you're saying...your own prejudice is showing...

Well even if they have a different color and an accent, you cant feel sorry for them since they have broken the law. I dont have respect for anyone that breaks the law no matter what nationality they are.

Sure, these guys may really be undocumented workers

Please sir...your language

Calling them "undocumented workers" is a little harsh, wouldn't you say?

....after all, these guys have got all the "documentation" they need

- after they STEAL it from American citizens who are too young to know what's going on, that is

Bingo! Shouldn't those GIVING the loans at least try to make reasonable loans? I mean, I'm not going to loan $100 to some bum that stumbles into me off the street. Why on earth would a bank simply check one number and not verify the person is entitled to use it? Somes like bad business to me ... and stupid. Those lending to these ID theives - if they'd just check - would see they are loaning to children.

Would they lend money to an 8 year old? It's worse than a "high-risk" loan.

Before becoming a journalist, I hold a degree in Computer Science, and was a computer scientist. The systems that are designed uses as a key either SSN only, or maybe SSN & DOB.

To answer your question, yes, the bank not only does not verify your NAME and DOB, it has no way to do this, unless their system is coded to check multiple key files to verify the information.

So, if I have 123-45-6789 and DOB of 1/1/2011, by computer key, I am a different person from you, with 123-45-6789 and DOB of 1/2/2011. The rules of unique keys imposed by the database architect treats these as two unique keys, and different people.

To catch a person using bogus information, you need to make just the SSN the sole key to a master file, that has your name address, DOB, account number, driver's license.

Next, if you come in with my SSN and the bogus DOB, the system should check first to see if the SSN is in the system, then, use that SSN as a key to an alternate key file, and compare it to the NAME, DOB and DL on file vs. what you provided. The Alternate Key file is created when the master record is first created. This way, if you try to open an account with bogus info while using my SSN, the system already has the information to make the comparison, and will alert the user.

But many computer systems were or are not written like that. Either because the progammer was lazy (takes a lot of work to set this up), or back then ID theft was not an issue, so this was never part of designing the bank's system; or the bank wanted the software done quickly and cheaply. Quality suffers.

I remember back in 1976 when I turned 18, I had to provide my SSN, DL & Birth Certificate to open an account, or to apply for a loan.

Now, too many companies rely on outdated computer systems that have not been updated to keep up with technology of today.

I hope that explains part of the problem and is understandable.

George McGinn

You need help. It's implied by your post that you're referring to the Prez - just what on earth does he have anything to do with this when this has been a problem for many years?

You need to calm down.

BJs - Marv is obviously angry at our current President because he is pandering to the illegal community by suggesting that he is supportive of their coming to this country illegally. Mr. Obama has made it no secret that he wants some kind of path to citizenship for these ppl and unfortunately our current constitution doesn't do anything to prohibit allowing anchor babies to gain full citizenship just because mommy was able to cross the border and give birth - almost like finding a winning lottery ticket. No other country has such rights. We need to make serious changes to our immigration policies, actually enforce the laws to protect American citizens, and secure our borders for the safety and security of our country. The illegal population is part of the problem in bankrupting America. If you can't see that, then you have no idea what kind of handouts are given to these ppl. They have groups that support them coming here and tell them very specifically what they need to do to get the "free" government money. It is sickening! And it isn't "free" money, it is the American tax-paying citizens money. Mr. Obama needs to understand and hear the American ppl. We don't support or want this "path" to citizenship. Other ppl who seek to come to this country to work or obtain an education, must jump through hoops to get here, pay a large amount of money and must also show that they are going to be a productive, contributing member of society. The illegals do none of this. They slip through the borders in the dead of night, pay nothing except possibly to a smuggler, they don't have to prove vaccinations or health, they don't prove they have employment or a way to support themselves. Why is our government so willing to support these ppl? Who is it benefitting - because I am pretty sure it is the tax-payers of this country.

VA Mother of 2-

I completely agree with your post, with the exception that it isn't just Obama. I believe W "Baby" Bush refered to illegal immigrants as "guest workers" who did jobs Americans "wouldn't" do. While I agree to a miniscule extent that Americans wouldn't do some of the jobs the "guest workers" would do, I believe to a greater extent that Americans cant afford to do those jobs after factoring in federal, state, local, and medicare taxes. Anyway, any lending institution that wouldn't have every failsafe in place to ensure the individual applying for credit is indeed who he says he is, should be strung from the gallows. Just think of the money that could be raised if tickets were sold to witness those individuals being pushed off the platform to swing from the end of a rope!

Thank you Misty. Wow. People forget that Obama is not God. He is does not own the ENTIRE responsibility of laws that were formed years ago and have yet to be changed.

Yes, W most certainly did pander to Hispanics - hell, ALL politicians do! They'd be stupid not to! Like it or not, they are the fastest growing demographic in the country and no, not all of them are illegals!

If you want to b*tch and moan about illegals stealing your jobs, then vent your anger at the BUSINESSES that hire them to begin with! That also includes private individuals who hire them for domestic work!

My DD's school had a similar program. I refused to sign her up because they wanted her SSN. She was disappointed, of course, but I explained to her that she already had a savings acct that we opened for her and she didn't need that. I understand the good intention of the program but I think that most ppl would just open a savings acct at their own bank for their child.

Also wanted to point out that when I registered both of my kids at school, besides their birth cert. the school also wanted their SSN. I kindly refused, asking why they needed it. They backed off and said they really didn't need it right now but when they went to high school they needed it for keeping track of their test scores and GPA. We'll see when that happens but unless it is absolutely necessary, they can assign my kids a student ID number and keep track that way. My husband is former military and we don't just give our SSN out when anybody asks for it.

Kate - Don't you have any compassion for these poor people that just came here to steal work and make a better life?

Amen, Bill.

Same sentiment I voiced before I read your post.

Shawn, Yup! AND our "government" is dumb enough to carry their crazy policy through to the Medicare system that uses the guess what.?...........the SS number for the ID.

We have ourselves to blame for electing dodos for our "representatives"

I agree with you. The government made this fraud so much easier with this law.

Well, to be fair, the IRS started demanding SS #s for children when some taxpayers were claiming their pets as dependents on their tax returns.

Lots of blame to go around there.

I am surprised no one yet has said that we need to sue the government or banks over this. If anything the government needs to change the way social security numbers are dealt with. A giant lawsuit against the banks would stop this crap right away, oh wait didn't the supreme court just get rid of class actions damn government. Oh well you can't live with them or with out them. Might as well just check your kids credit on the day they get a SSN. Thats my ramblings.

I have an idea: Maybe the government shouldn't activate these SSN's until the child grows and gets their first job. They would be there for for use by parents for filing taxes only, then the child must activate it when employed. Why should parents be responsible for something the government has required by law.

That's the was S/S was originally meant to be set up and administered. Not to go political, but the liberal dems are responsible for ensuring everyone is "entitled" to get an SSAN at birth. Mainly because it helped prove citizenship.

In VA, they put your SSN as your driver's license number unless you ask for it not to be used.

Man, you are so right. Before I started working, it wasn't necessary. Most MVA's will print it on your drivers license if you don't opt-out for a generic #. Guess what happens when you get robbed of your wallet with your social security card inside. Need I say more?

@ VA mother of 2 they have not used a SSN on your Driver's license in YEARS. They have used T numbers. If you still have an SSN on your ID you should have had it replaced. (I am pretty sure it was when they went to vertical cards under 21 and horizontal for over 21 that T numbers came into use because I was underage and in college)

However that being said the issue is larger than someone stealing numbers. My sister in the state of Virginia found out when she was pulled over when she was 17 that her DL was suspended. Why you may ask? Because the state of VA and the Fed Gov had issued not one but two, TWO of the same social security numbers at some point. When an ID was made for someone else they put the wrong number and from that point on had been using my sister's number. VDOT's and the government's answer to this issue? Add some extra digits to the end of my sister's SSN.

So if someone can just write the wrong number down on an application for a government ID and it is issued and the government won't correct it...then I am pretty sure that this is a bigger issue than credit scores and illegals!

@ VA mother of 2 in case you know people who aren't aware...here is the DMV website.

I accidentally said VDOT instead of DMV above but I guess you all would understand what I was trying to say...

I'd be willing to wager that a large percentage of ID theft comes from people the victim knows. After all, how easy it is for them to find out the SS # of their own kids?

My husbands cousin has six kids and each of her bills gets rotated thru each kids name/SSN combo until the credit limit is tripped and service gets shut off. She gets welfare money for the kids and still ruins their credit rather than pay her bills! I brought it up at events with both sides of his family and basically the white side answered oh no, I would never! The black side almost everyone in that room had at least one bill in their kids name.

Dave - Don't forget that aliens get food stamps and a free education for all their kids. Plus free health care and welfare.

But they just want better lives for their families!

Our founding fathers would welcome them, and pardon their breaking the law!

It's racist to uphold the law regarding immigration!

The US constitution applies to everyone!

At least, according to some posters here. Not me.

Democrats and Republicans are the same now. The only ones they watch out for is themselves. Don't try to just make it about one or the other.

The first rule of politics - ensure your reelection, at all costs.

Even the cost of the treasury.

Panem et Circenses!

Bring on the Hunger Games!

Let me ask you a question, Did Hitlers Atlantic Wall and West Wall and The maginot line keep Nazi Germany safe from invaders????????????????????

Ya think there is never homegrown Americans engaging in identity theft?

Visit your local prison and see how many whities, Blackies and Hispanicies there are. Don't blame to innocent minority for crimes of the 10%.........we don;t do it to whites or blacks don't do it to Latin Americans.

Um, Smallstuff, the two individuals WERE "Hispanicies" and were hardly "innocent" minorities. That's why we're blaming them. How dare they steal childrens' social security numbers and have no remorse. They do not know how to behave like proper guests in our country.

Ok hang on "NOisNO." Wow! You're unreal! You're complaining about language issues? Seriously? Oh ye of:

1) "children anyone for that matter." PLEASE explain that one.

2) "Having someone to have to speak Spanish to..." AND that one... tee hee, there's more coming.

3) "and don't understand how convienient!" HUH? Punctuation AND spelling all within a 5 word 'phrase.' Not really a phrase, not sure what it is really.

4) "No wonder shy we need to build te wall. Red flags for sure!" ?!?! What?? This one requires a pamphlet-sized explanation.

YOU talk about language skills? You should be ashamed to call yourself an American! You don't respect your own language! Go read a book!