According to ID Analytics, a fraud-fighting San Diego company, 40 million out of the 290 million Social Security numbers they analyzed were attached to more than one name.
20 million Americans, or 6 percent of the population, have multiple Social Security numbers attached to their name. In most cases, however, typos are to blame. Any time a person gives a Social Security number to a company, there is a chance is will be incorrectly entered into the system. Once this happens, the false Social Security number is forever connected to the person. The false number may belong to a different real person, or it might be a "synthetic" number -- "an unassigned number that becomes a new entity in the credit system." (Definition taken from MSNBC article.)
5 million Social Security numbers are attached to three or more people, meaning nearly 1 in 7 number holders in America have two or more names attached to their Social Security records. Many people are on this list because of typographical errors as well, however, the majority of victims of Social Security fraud fall under this category. Others included in this group are those who buy or borrow a Social Security number in order to obtain work, namely illegal immigrants.
2 comments:
So does that mean I can be in debt for something I never bought? Like a loan for a house?
Most likely, no.
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