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FTC: Businesses Need To Better Protect Social Security Numbers

May 12, 2006

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How much access should businesses have to consumers' Social Security numbers?

In testimony before Congress, the Federal Trade Commission says, while there are some legitimate commercial uses of the numbers, it is increasingly a challenge to keep that information out of the hands of identity thieves.

"With 300 million American consumers, many of whom share the same name, the unique nine-digit SSN is a key identification tool for businesses, government, and others," FTC Commissioner Jon Leibowitz told a House Commerce subcommittee.

"The challenge is to find the proper balance between the need to keep SSNs out of the hands of identity thieves, while giving businesses and government entities sufficient means to attribute information to the correct person."

Leibowitz said that credit reporting agencies use Social Security Numbers to ensure that credit data ends up in the right files, and businesses use the reports to determine whether to extend credit, insurance, or employment to consumers.

"Without the ability to use SSNs as a personal identifier and fraud prevention tool, the granting of credit and the provision of other financial services would become riskier and more expensive and inconvenient for consumers," he said. "Restricting the disclosure of SSNs also could impact public health initiatives, criminal law enforcement, and anti-fraud and anti-terrorism efforts."

The FTC says it has pursued aggressive law enforcement against companies that failed to provide reasonable and appropriate security for sensitive customer data. It also has challenged organizations that have made deceptive claims about privacy procedures and security.

"Since 2001, the Commission has brought 13 cases challenging businesses that have failed to take reasonable steps to protect sensitive consumer information in their files."

In a settlement with ChoicePoint, a data broker that allowed identity thieves to gain access to files of 160,000 consumers, the company paid $10 million in civil penalties and $5 million in consumer redress for identity theft victims, Leibowitz said.

Leibowitz said both government and industry need to consider what information they collect and maintain from or about consumers and whether they need to do so.

Entities that possess sensitive consumer information, he added, should continue to enhance their procedures to protect it. Leibowitz said the Commission will continue its law enforcement and outreach efforts to encourage and, when necessary, require better protections.

"Industry should continue the development of improved fraud prevention methods to stop identity thieves from misusing the consumer information they have managed to obtain. In this regard, the FACT Act should prove instrumental by requiring the bank regulatory agencies, the National Credit Union Administration, and the FTC to develop jointly regulations and guidelines for financial institutions and creditors to identify possible risks of identity theft," he said.

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