I have been doing some research about ldentity Theft. (First, a notice: I am not really typing the correct spelling of the word ‘ldentity.’ The first letter is a lower case L (yes, even in the quotations! But not the links.). People involved in the ‘practice’ of ldentity theft are always looking for ways to improve their results, and to mitigate their risk. As I am going to discuss some things about the issue, I don’t want the goog to come to their aid. Thus, the obfuscation. (In my defense, I did not obfuscate the spelling of obfuscation.) )
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Online references seem to have a solid consensus when it comes to things one should NEVER carry in one’s wallet/purse.
ABC News says:
The number one thing you should not carry in your wallet is your social security card. If it gets into the wrong hands, it can be used for everything from buying a car to opening a credit card.
The
Lifestyle Blog at xfinity agrees:
Your Social Security card is the gateway to ldentity theft. If your wallet is lost or stolen with your Social Security number inside, anyone can steal your ldentity, open credit cards, or apply for loans in your name. And while you’re extracting your Social Security card, look for anything with your Social Security number on it and store it in a safe place.
In short, there is nothing worse (more high risk) you can carry in your wallet/purse than your Social Security card.
Kiplinger, by contrast, says:
Oh wait! It is the same thing after all.
With just your name and Social Security number, ldentity thieves can open new credit accounts and make costly purchases in your name.
With the Mormon perspective, the
Deseret News says (partially quoting Kiplinger):
Your Social Security number shouldn't be on anything in your wallet, because it's all ID thieves need to start a whole new you. Experts say this is the worst item to carry around according to Kiplinger.
For women,
herdaily dot com says:
Your Social Security card: With your ldentity and address from your driver’s license as well as your social security number in your wallet, if it’s ever lost or stolen you’ll be in trouble. ldentity thieves can open new credit accounts and make costly purchases in your name.
And
allwomenstalk ...
(Does that look like all women stalk to anybody else?!)
One of the most important things to not keep in your wallet is your social security card. Your social security number can be used for many violations of ldentity such as applying for credit cards or loans in your name . Your social security card may seem an innocuous card to have sitting happily in your wallet, but the theft of this item could lead to some serious ldentity theft, racking up debts in your name and affecting your credit. Anything that displays your social security number should be removed from your wallet, and if you need documentation that has your social security number on it, photocopy the document and make sure that the social security number is obscured.
(Nearly unique among sites, allwomenstalk lists that SECOND among things one should never carry. First, on their list, is a cheat sheet with PINs and passwords.
I could list similar sites and quotations all night long. The message is clear and consistent. Don’t ever allow your Social Security number be compromised.
But, if you live in the state of South Carolina, it's okay! Because the South Carolina Department of Revenue has ready seen to that step, giving away your social security number and name and address to hackers, along with the info of your family members and dependents, and 5.7 million other current and former SC residents and dependents. (Latest number according to Post and Courier) Your critical information is already 'out there.' And, for those invested in the crime of ldentity theft, there's no particular rush. They can take five years to get around to stealing your ldentity (or your children's ldentities) and cashing in. They can take a decade, if they wish. Two decades, four. Six. Should they wish to cover their tracks, they can share your information with thousands of others engaged in the activity, thus mitigating their risk, so that anyone investigating thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of cases of ldentity theft of South Carolina residents has to try to track thousands of perpetrators, rather than merely one or two.
Of course, there are many other dirty tricks they can play. They can give your name and info to law enforcement so they come after you in their prosecution of crimes. They even have an incentive to do that. The more ‘others’ law enforcement has to deal with, the less time and resources they can put into finding those responsible for stealing your critical information.
The silver lining, of course, is South Carolina residents can carry Social Security cards and most any other critical identification or information without fear of significantly increased risk. Without worrying about whether an oversight might have lifelong consequences. Those are already real and absolute. Thanks to Nikki Haley and the Republican government of the state of South Carolina.
The Post and Courier article I referenced right above includes an excellent description of the ordeals SC taxpayers and their dependents face. Please consider reading it, here (re-linking it!).
On to tonight's comments! Compiled (and formulated and edited and corrected and enhanced and polished and improved) by brillig!
brillig here: but I did not replace all my capital I's with lowercase l's, and it never would have occurred to me to do so... so you are considerably more formulated than me tonight! :)
Brillig's ObDisclaimer: The decision to publish each nomination lies with the evening's Diarist and/or Comment Formatter. My evenings at the helm, I try reeeeallllyy hard to publish everything
without regard to content. I really do, even when I disagree personally with any given nomination. "TopCommentness" lies in the eyes of the nominator and of you, the reader - I leave the decision to you. I do
not publish self-nominations (ie your own comments) and if I ruled the world, we'd all build community, supporting and uplifting instead of tearing our fellow Kossacks down.
From brillig:
Dartagnan closes a very good diary by asking How can global warming denial NIPCC members sleep? Stwriley has the answer.
From BeninSC:
Flagged by raboof, this comment from grover suggests a novel alternative for sharing important information!
Flagged by Portia Elm, this title-only comment by bernardpliers speaks for itself!
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