Clerical errors by the employer, usually. I didn’t work in an office that issued SSNs, so I can’t be sure how someone could have been issued a duplicated number. IIRC when I got my SSN (around 1968) I walked into the local office and they picked up an application form that had a preprinted SSN card attached to it; I filled out the form, the clerk tore off the card, typed my name on it, and handed it to me. Not much chance of duplication there. I have a vague recollection of once seeing a case where there were two people with the same name and date of birth and one of them was erroneously given a replacement card with the other person’s number (IIRC she hadn’t worked in years and had forgotten her number) but I can’t remember the details.
I would be interested in seeing that Scientific American article that kittenblue mentioned, since I don’t think there was ever any sort of algorithm used to assign SSNs. My father and his brother also had sequential SSNs (they had also applied at the same time) and I saw many cases of twins and family members, including several spouses, with consecutive SSNs. I believe the current system is set up to avoid that. I know I saw several cases of immigrant families that had applied for numbers together being assigned numbers that were similar but not consecutive to avoid future confusion.
My paternal grandmother never had an SSN; she came to the US in the 20s and never worked. There were a lot of people who never worked, or worked in what is called “non-covered employment” such as state or local governments, or were self-employed, who never needed SSNs. So it is quite possible that people now in their 80s or 90s never had SSNs.
There is not any such plan.
The last 4 digits of the SSN are simply a sequence number, and are issued in order by each office as people walked in and applied.
In fact, sequential SSN’s are fairly common; occurring whenever family members apply at the same time. There were several periods when this happened frequently:[ul]
[li]when the first SSN’s were issued, it was common for family applications to come in together. (Though in the late 1930’s, most wives did not work, so they did not apply.)[/li][li]When Medicare started, and required a SSN to participate. Many retired people who had never had an SSN before had to apply for one at that time, and did so at the same time.[/li][li]When the IRS began requiring an SSN attached to any bank account. Many families had a savings account for each child, but as non-working minors, they had never applied for a SSN. Applications for all the children were commonly submitted together, and would get consecutive numbers. (I think that was the example given above.)[/li][/ul] This still happens some today, in the case of an immigrant family becoming citizens. Often they will all apply for an SSN at the same time, and get consecutive numbers.
I can’t speak directly as to the method used to assign SSNs today, since I did not work at an office that handled applications, but during the time I was handling calls to the national help line I don’t think the local offices assign the numbers any more. I’m basing this on the fact that I got frequent calls from people who had filed an application and needed to know the number ASAP; rather than having to wait until the card arrived in the mail they were told by the office to call back in 2-3 days, by which time the new number would be in our database.
About ten years ago I did process a case that involved an immigrant family which had recently been issued SSNs and their numbers were not consecutive, but were each 3-4 digits apart.
Yes, the issuance was centralized in one national office 34 years ago, in 1973. (As pointed out 20 posts earlier.)
Well, the central office issues about 25,000 new SSN’s every workday, or about 52 every minute. So it’s quite possible that even if the applications for that family were sent in one after the other from that local office, there were many other SSA offices sending in applications at the same time, and some could easily have slipped in between ones for these family members.
I was issued my SSN around 1980, along with my brother and sister, upon the suicide of our mother. Our numbers are sequential.
With identity theft on the rise, I would like to ask a question os SSN’s, if it isnt too much off topic:
Lets say my number is “stolen” from some database (let’s say from the VA database). That thief then sells my SSN to 10 guys, who then use it and sell it to others, and so on. Let’s say there are several hundred individuals using my SSN for credit card/loan applications, etc.
How does one get their SSN back to a semi-private status? Do I need a new one?
Just a note: That question being on the form is quite different from a requirement that the applicant never have applied for an SSN before. Indeed, the form specifically contemplates that some applicants will answer “yes,” thus indicating that they have indeed previously filed for or received a SSN card. The form says that in such cases, the applicant must answer questions 11 through 13, which ask the applicant to provide the previously assigned SSN and other information.
I don’t know anything about this issue other than what is printed on the form, so I don’t know if a “Yes” answer causes a crack team of FBI field agents to storm your house, but the form does not suggest illegality of seeking a second number. (Presumably, someone at some point will want to know why you want a second number.)
If you indicate on the application that you had previously been issued a SSN, then you will not be issued a second SSN but will instead, assuming that the identifying information (date & place of birth, parents’ names) on the form matches that on SSA records, you will be issued a replacement Social Security card with the same number you were previously assigned. If you wish to be assigned a second number, you need a very good reason, such as domestic abuse or harassment, identity theft, or being in the witness protection program (in the last case, you probably won’t be filling out the application yourself).
This also leads to a response to mlees’ question about identity theft. If you can prove that you are having severe financial difficulties because of identity theft, you may be able to get a new SSN assigned to you. More information on this is available here. This is usually a last resort due to the complications involved in transferring or cross-referring earnings records, not to mention medical, employment and all the other government & non-government records that may be using your SSN to identify you.
Some of the colleges I have worked at used SSNs as student ID numbers. But of course most foreign students don’t have SSNs. So “fake” numbers (e.g., starting with a bunch of 0s) were assigned to them. Some students would then of course start using this number as an actual SSN elsewhere. Ooohboy.
In short, don’t ever use SSN as anything other than a taxpayer ID field. Some people don’t have them, there can be dups, etc.
Not a problem – those numbers are obviously fake; any employer, financial institution, etc. would know that right away. (But it would raise the question “Why did we hire somebody’ who is dumb enough to use such an obvious fake?”)
I disagree. I have designed many DP systems that use SSN as a key identifier.
If your users are mostly Americans who already have SSN’s, it has many advantages, both to you and to your customers. [ul]
[li]Everybody already has one; you don’t have to build a system to create & issue numbers.[/li][li]Everybody already knows their SSN; you don’t have to force them to memorize another number just for your system.*[/li][li]It’s used elsewhere, so can be easily found if they forget it.[/li][li]Format is known, and you can do some (minimal) cross-checks for validity.[/li][li]The format has known ‘empties’ (leading zeroes), that you can use for those cases of people who don’t have an SSN or won’t give it.[/li][li]It’s commonly used, so very useful if you ever have to match records to another system.[/li][/ul]In my experience, using SSN as a key is often easier for both you and your customers.
*I wish websites would realize this.
They all want me to “register”, and assign a user-id and password, which I have the burden of remembering. In many cases, I just say ‘Sorry, but your website just isn’t that important to me – I won’t bother, I’ll go elsewhere.’
I seem to remember that about 10-15 years ago there was a big to-do because some large discount store chain (I want to say K-Mart, but that may be wrong) had their registers programmed to include the clerk’s name on the receipt. Unfortunately, it also added their employee identification number which was…their SSN.
Quick Question: In the article, Cecil includes the list of leading numbers and their states, at the end of the list is GU and AS – is GU Guam, and what is AS?
One more instance of sequential numbers - my brother and I have identical numbers, from the early '60s, I think. My parents sent in our applications at the same time.
A while ago not much checking was done on applications. I can say this because in the early '70s, as part of a scheme to get our hall lounge admitted to MIT, I applied for and got a social security number for it. I suppose it was fraud in that I forged its name, but that would be an interesting case. There was certainly no intention of getting unearned benefits from this. I assume this kind of hack is no longer possible.
I wonder how many SSNs have absolutely no activity. Besides this bizarre case, I suppose children who die before ever earning any money would also have no activity.
This is timely…I was just called today by the Realtor association telling me that someone in TX is claiming to have the same SS# as me. I just faxed them my card. I’ll be interested to know what the real deal is.
So which is it – identical (both numbers are the same) or sequential (one number is greater than the other)? You can’t have it both ways.
Such names & numbers are (or used to be) an indentity thief’s dream. If the child never grew up, there is nothing bad on his record. Death certificates didn’t used to be matched with births, so you could go to a cemetery, find a child’s name, and apply for a birth certificate, certain that that person wouldn’t object or be likely to trip you up.