Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 26, 1993                   TAG: 9312260039
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Fort Worth Star-Telegram
DATELINE: DALLAS                                LENGTH: Medium

IRS MAILING CRITICIZED AS UNSAFE

A few weeks ago, the federal agency mailed out 22 million postcards designed to eliminate costly, unnecessary mailings and save taxpayers millions of dollars.

But when it stamped each recipient's name, address and Social Security number - in bold letters, in three places - on the unsealed postcards, the IRS also extended an invitation to crooks wanting to wreak financial havoc.

"Anyone with common sense can see this is a bad idea," said Evan Hendricks, Washington editor of Privacy Times newsletter and chairman of the national Privacy Council watchdog group. "Even if you don't care about privacy issues, this is a bad idea from an anti-fraud standpoint."

In an era of computerized networks for mailing lists, credit information and, increasingly, medical histories, Social Security numbers "are the first key" to unlocking a person's financial life story, Hendricks said. When coupled with a name and address, the possibilities for criminals are virtually limitless, he said.

Bill Moore, spokesman for the IRS office in Dallas, said he was not aware of any complaints about the mailer, which the IRS anticipates will save nearly $3 million this year. He pointed out that the cards should be viewed only by mail carriers and the individuals to whom they are addressed.

They were mailed to taxpayers who have used paid preparers in the past. The IRS wants to avoid sending duplicate tax packages, one to the individual and one to the preparer.

But taxpayers should be concerned, said Dave Banisar of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility.

"There's a major danger that anybody who happens to be flitting near your mailbox can easily get your Social Security number," Banisar said. "From there, they can easily pretend to be you and get credit cards in your name."

Moore said that although the postcard mailers are new, the IRS has been using taxpayers' Social Security numbers on mailings for some time. They are displayed on the mailing labels found on the tax packages mailed yearly to most of the nation's estimated 115 million taxpayers, he said.

That hasn't escaped Banisar's notice. His group intervened in a legal attempt by a New Jersey man to halt the IRS practice of putting Social Security numbers on the outside of tax packages.

In 1991, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld without comment a lower court's decision that Social Security numbers as printed by the IRS are not protected by the 1974 federal privacy act.

But this year, another federal judge ruled that Virginia must either stop requiring residents to divulge their Social Security number when registering to vote or keep voter records confidential. That ruling has renewed hope among some interest groups that as electronic information networks expand, courts will take greater steps to protect individuals' privacy.