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California Senator Introduces Bill to Further Limit Use of Social Security Numbers

The bill would require government agencies and public colleges and universities to cease using Social Security numbers as public identifiers.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- State Sen. Debra Bowen authored a new bill, SB 25, that would require government agencies -- including public colleges and universities -- in California to stop using Social Security numbers as public identifiers as a way to prevent identity theft.

"Identity theft is the fastest-growing white-collar crime in the country, and a Social Security number is the pass key criminals need to unlock a person's entire financial history," Bowen said in a statement. "Posting grades by Social Security number and forcing people to carry their SSN around on their student ID card is about as safe as putting them up on the scoreboard during the Rose Bowl game."

SB 25 would expand California's identity-theft-prevention law, SB 168 (which Bowen sponsored in 2001), which prevents private-sector businesses from using Social Security numbers as public identifiers and gives Californians the right to shut off access to their credit reports.

SB 25 extends the restrictions on collecting and using Social Security numbers as identifiers to all government agencies, including public colleges and universities. Under the provisions of the bill, public entities will have to ensure that Social Security numbers don't get posted or displayed, printed on letters sent in the mail, or used on identification cards.

The bill also requires banks and retailers to honor security alerts people place on their credit reports when they're worried about identity theft. The bill would also require any business that pulls a credit report and sees it's been red-flagged with an alert to contact the customer at the phone number on the alert before approving new loans and credit in their name.

"Requiring people to use their Social Security number as their identification number forces them to wave the red flag in front of a bull, and hope it doesn't charge," Bowen said. "Eliminating identity theft isn't easy, but we can reduce the odds that people will get ripped off by taking Social Security numbers and other 'red flag' personal information out of general circulation."

Bowen said that a recent national survey of college students conducted by Impulse Research showed that:

- 49 percent of college students get per-approved offers for credit on a daily or weekly basis and about one-third of them throw out the offers without destroying them.

- 30 percent of students rarely, if ever, reconcile their credit card and checking account balances.

- 48 percent of teachers still post their grades by Social Security number.

In November, Riverside County authorities arrested a Rialto man suspected of stealing the names and Social Security numbers of some 150 college students, mostly from UC Riverside, and using that information to get credit cards and run up more than $200,000 in charges in the students' names.

The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the Identity Theft Resource Center estimate at least 700,000 people a year become victims of identity theft. Identity thefts reported to the Federal Trade Commission's ID-theft hotline jumped from 86,000 complaints in 2001 to 117,139 complaints in 2002 -- through September 30.

Bowen aides said SB 25 will be assigned to a Senate policy committee when the Legislature re-convenes in January.