THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, April 17, 1995 TAG: 9504170056
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 54 lines
To help states catch illegal aliens, fugitives from justice and child-support scofflaws, the federal government will soon offer to scour motor vehicle records for drivers with phony Social Security numbers.
Criminals and others seeking a new identity often use false Social Security numbers to get a driver's license or a state-issued identification card.
The phony documents can then be used to obtain welfare, health care and other public benefits as well as check-cashing and credit cards, Social Security officials said.
Starting May 8, the Social Security Administration will compare its records to motor vehicle records from states that request the service, looking for fake numbers. SSA will report back to the states, which then have the task of catching up with cheaters.
Critics say the plans are fraught with privacy risks, since states could give the lists to police or other agencies, or sell them to credit bureaus.
Phil Gambino, Social Security's spokesman, said the agency shares those concerns but noted that Congress, in the mid-1980s, authorized states to collect Social Security numbers for driver's licenses.
In justifying its plans, Social Security said screening motor vehicle records would help federal and state programs, including those providing medical services, cash payments, child support enforcement and other types of assistance.
Dan Stein, executive director of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, said there is an ``overwhelming need to have Social Security numbers verified.''
Fifteen states and the District of Columbia require driver's license applicants to provide Social Security numbers, according to privacy expert Robert Ellis Smith.
More than a dozen states - including Virginia - display the number on the license; three states prohibit the use of Social Security numbers for licenses; and the balance make it optional or don't ask for the number, Smith said.
Smith, publisher of the Privacy Journal, a monthly newsletter on privacy in the computer age, said virtually all states sell motor vehicle information to insurance companies and other businesses.
He believes that verifying information is a good thing, but said Social Security's plans could prompt more state motor vehicle agencies to use Social Security numbers. That, he said, would be unfortunate.
``The more you display a Social Security number, the more you open up individuals to the fraudulent use of it,'' he said. by CNB