Social Security Cards

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quote:
Originally posted by jmacmaster:
... No one even needs the card, much less do they need to carry it. When's the last time that someone asked to see your SS card? You don't even need the card. All you need is to remember your SS number, and you should rarely give it out, because hardly anyone has the right, or the need, to demand it.
Click to expand...
Are you saying that prospective employers have no right to ask to see your SS card?
 
quote:
Originally posted by Kestas:

quote:
Originally posted by jmacmaster:
... No one even needs the card, much less do they need to carry it. When's the last time that someone asked to see your SS card? You don't even need the card. All you need is to remember your SS number, and you should rarely give it out, because hardly anyone has the right, or the need, to demand it.
Click to expand...
Are you saying that prospective employers have no right to ask to see your SS card?
Click to expand...
No. I said "hardly anyone has the right, or the need, to demand it". A prospective employer would be one of the exceptions.
 
The obverse design does incorporate raised print that can be sensed with your fingertips as long as the card remains unlaminated.

On the reverse side of my SS (!!!) card it says "Do not laminate." "This card is invalid if not signed by the number holder unless health or age prevents signature."

The next paragraphs says "This card is the property of the Social Security Administration and must be returned upon request. If found return to:" *the address of the SSA follows*

Then it says "Contact your local Social Security office for any other matter regarding this card."

Then the card is signed with "Department of Health and Human Services Social Security Administration Form *code for form*

There is also a letter-and-number code printed on the back. I have no idea what that number is. It does not match the SS number on the front.

Nowhere does it say on my SS card that it must not be used for ID purposes. I can't believe anybody would even want the SS card for ID, because the paper doesn't incorporate a watermark or any real security feature, at least from what I can tell.

From the wikipedia:
quote:
Identity Theft
The SSN is frequently used by those involved in identity theft, since it is interconnected with so many other forms of identification, and because people asking for it treat it as an authenticator — it is generally required by financial institutions to set up bank accounts, credit cards, and obtain loans, partially because it is assumed that no one except the person to whom it was issued will have it. Ironically enough, Social Security cards used to have the caption "Not for identification," indicating that the cards and their number are not intended to be a form of identification. In 2005 break-ins into administrative and school computers led to large-scale identity theft, and a bill has been proposed which would make use of the social security number as identifiers in schools illegal. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that the United States has no national ID document and that the social security card contains no biometric identifiers of any sort, making it essentially impossible to tell whether a person using a certain SSN is truly the person to whom it was issued without relying on some other means of documentation (which may itself have been falsely procured through use of the fraudulent SSN). Congress has finally proposed new federal laws that will restrict the use of SSNs for identification and ban their use for a number of commercial purposes, e.g. rental applications
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So no, newer SS cards do not say use of the card as ID is illegal! As far as I know, nobody has ever asked me for the card itself, but I have been asked for the number. I think my bank may have it. Lousy, do-no-good bankers!
tongue.gif


Also from the wikipedia:

quote:
Contrary to popular belief, there is still no law directly requiring a natural born US Citizen to apply for a Social Security number to live or work in the United States. Although a handful of people still live this way, it is becoming ever increasingly difficult to engage in normal acts of commerce or banking activities without providing one. Such prohibitions against persons that refuse to enter into what amounts to a voluntary government program, raises a variety of constitutional concerns
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You might not even have to have an SS card, if you can put up with the consequences.
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wikipedia on SS cards
 
I suspect the SS card has changed over the years. Mine, which I believe I got in the 1950s, has this bottom line, all in capitals, on the front, right below the signature line: "FOR SOCIAL SECURITY PURPOSES . NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION"
The form number on the back is “Form OA-702. Rev. (7-54) Department of Health, Education and Welfare Social Security Administration.” There are three paragraphs on the back instructing what to do with the card. One sentence is: "SHOW it to your employer." [Capitalization is as on the card.]
Mine says nothing about lamination, but then I suspect that was not popular when mine was issued.
I recall some years ago (perhaps 25 or so) the IRS began requiring a SS number in order for one to claim a deduction for a dependent. I suppose that would drive those folks who can get an SS number for their offspring to do so. I remember this because we had to get a number in order to claim our child on the tax return, and she is now 26.
Terry
 
If you google SS cards, you will see older cards that clearly say the cards are not to be used for ID purposes. However, on newer (not 30 year old SSc cards) it says nothing about not using the SS card as ID. Click to see the back. Here's the front . I'm not showing my card, because the simple act of scanning that card likely constitutes a felony.
tongue.gif
 
Pretty sure the I-9, which your employer has to fill out and have on file, allows a SS card as one of the two forms of ID. The other has to have your photo.

Loosey goosey loopholes. You can even start working as long as you've applied for a SSN.
 
I don't have a problem with my employer wanting to see my SS card. That is what it is meant for. What I have a problem with is using the number for things like driver's licensees, student ID's, checks, etc.
 
you laminate things so they last better when theyre carried... why would you want to carry your SS card?

Im 26, and my mother still has mine. I have never needed it, even when applying for gun permits and security clearances.

It isnt an ID.

Thanks,

JMH
 
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