Say that a person’s house burns down and he loses every document that identifies him as who he is ie social security card, drivers license, passport, birth certificate, etc. What must that person do to regain his papers? How does he prove that he is who he says he is?
Sorry, I meant identity.
I don’t know about you, but I’d be fine. I use telephone and online services where I can, so I’d phone my bank and credit card company and confirm through their security procedures (I remember my PINs, and can remember most of my card numbers) to get new cards sent to an address I nominate (after explaining why I was changing the address). I could probably get quite far with banker’s references and copies of bank statements as evidence of ID.
I’m bring this thread back to life because I’m curious myself and am sure someone knows the answer.
Haven’t you ever lost your wallet? I have, and it’s not that big a deal. Like Crusoe says, commercial entities have their own security procedures to follow. Government institutions have others. The DMV has a copy of your driver’s photo, you know your own SSN, you can answer questions that they have the answers to in their records.
Worst comes to worst, if you get enough people with established IDs to vouch for you, by and large that’s acceptable.
It is a far worse problem if someone else uses your ID for evil :), and you have to prove that person was not you.
Take in the newspaper where they interviewed you in front of your charred house. You may even receive cash
** yojimboguy **,
I think the scenario chickendoc is referring is a little more drastic (and hypothetical) than losing a wallet. Photo licenses are relatively recent. Suppose you don’t know your SS number?
Then we work backwards. There are real property records showing ownership of the house. Assuming it was insured, the insurance company has records. There are signatures on all relevant documents that can be compared to yours. In between the property records and insurance records, there are records of financial institutions relating to the sale and transfer of the property. On some of these documents, the owner’s SSN, DOB (date of birth), bank account info., etc., will be found.
Suppose you rented the house. Then the landlord or leasing company will also have records. Many do credit checks before renting out. If you worked, the personnel office has your SSN. If you paid taxes, they have your SSN. There is a LOT of info. out there.
The person may have to sign under penalty of perjury that he is who he says he is in order to get his SSN card or DMV license, etc., back.
Don’t forget witness testimony like neighbors, co-workers, friends, maybe religious ministers, postmen, etc.
I’m sure there was a similar thread within the last year…
Every single piece of identity info I had was in that wallet. I didn’t have a passport, nor a birth certificate (though I have since obtained it). There is no real difference.
It is not very difficult to get copies of your lost IDs. Probably it should be more difficult, because of idenity theft. But it’s not.
True. Lately I’m meeting more people who say someone has stolen their identity. One guy had a bunch of stuff on a credit report that is not his.