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

DATE: TUESDAY, February 14, 1995                   TAG: 9502140138
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FREDERICKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

OTHERS ARE SHARING HIS NUMBER

Christopher Spivey went to the Division of Motor Vehicles office last month to apply for a learner's permit and left with some surprising information: Two other people are using his Social Security number.

The DMV clerk expressed surprise when she found out Spivey's number was not unique. ``The woman keyed his number into the computer, stepped back and said, `Oh, my!'' said Deanna Rodgers, Spivey's mother.

``She said, `We have another person using your ID.'''

In Virginia, Social Security numbers also are used as driver's license numbers.

Someone might have skipped a digit on his own number when filling out a form, or the sequence may have been used to obtain a fraudulent driver's license or ID.

``This isn't a common occurrence,'' said Dana Edwards, a Social Security Administration spokesman in Philadelphia.

A 1989 state law requires driver's license applicants to show proof of their Social Security numbers by producing a Social Security card, a W2 form, an income tax return from a previous year, a payroll check or check stub with a name, or an unexpired military ID card.

To ease Spivey's mind, the DMV added the digits ``003'' to the end of the number on his learner's permit. DMV officials will require the other two people to verify their identities in person. If they don't come in, their driver's licenses will be suspended.

The experience seemed to unsettle Rodgers more than it bothered her son.

``Everyone considers your Social Security number sacred,'' she said. ``No one is supposed to have it or be able to get it, so it kind of threw me.''

by CNB