# SSN's Available Online?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssns-available-online/694815>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 4, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssns-available-online/694815 "2014-08-04T20:18:56Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssns-available-online/694815/1 "2014-08-04T20:18:56Z")

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I find that by typing a fairly random 9-digit number into google I get results showing websites which maintain large logs of social security numbers. Many have the holder’s name or address posted along with the number.

I have noticed that some have rather unusual behavior - you can go there once, but if you return too soon the page shows up as ‘broken’

Are these for real? And aren’t they illegal or at least enabling identity-fraud?

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**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssns-available-online/694815/2 "2014-08-04T22:52:44Z")

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Once you are dead, the numbers are public knowledge and published. I don’t know of any sites for living people, though.

I use them quite a bit in genealogy to figure out if and when people died.

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**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssns-available-online/694815/3 "2014-08-04T22:58:15Z")

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I entered my SSN and my surname and got nothing.

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**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\
**Post date:** [August 4, 2014, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ssns-available-online/694815/4 "2014-08-04T23:05:39Z")

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> [@jtur88](#):
>
> I entered my SSN and my surname and got nothing.

So did all the other people on the site!

Really, that was probably not the best thing to do.