OT: Gripe and Question - REF: Soc Sec No

[J Miller]

Question:

Why is every body asking for my Social Security Number?

We've been with American Family Insurance for nearly 10 years now and it seems they've been raising our rates every payment time. My wife has been doing comparison shopping for a new insurance company.
It seems that for a quote they want our Soc Sec Nos. I'm getting a bit tired of that. That number was not to be used as an ID number for anything but Social Security and Income tax. At least that's what I remember.
What do they need it for?

Can anybody tell me the straight of this? Has some law been passed that has made the Soc Sec No an official ID number?

What happens if I tell them to go pound sand and refuse to give it to them? I mean other than them refusing me insurance?

This is just bugging the stuff out of me and I've got a need for an answer.

Doctors office,
Insurance company,
Banks,
Others I can't remember have all asked for the Soc Sec No and I'm tired of giving it out to the whole darn world.

Joe

[Mescalero]

I have noticed that also, and was in the past not to give out my soc.

[COSteve]

They use it to access your credit scores. Insurance rates are many times influenced by your credit score.

[3leggedturtle]

Yeah i've noticed that too. Told 3 insurance comps It was none of their ^&*(%$##@ business. Only IRS and employer needded it. Its a conspiracy to get into everyones business

[J Miller]

They use it to access your credit scores. Insurance rates are many times influenced by your credit score.

Really???? Then I ain't giving to them.
Besides, I ain't got no credit. Been off the credit grid since I had to file bankruptcy 9 years ago. It's cash or nothing.

Joe

[86er]

I'm not going to provide a full history lesson or social studies course but will be brief. Some of this has to do with the PATRIOT ACT which directly changed the Bank Secrecy Act and Money Laundering Control Act. The record keeping and reporting requirements of banks, banking institutions and "depository instituions" (like insurance companies). The collection of a social security number is one tool to make account holders responsible and well, accountable. The big picture is to limit, detect, intercept and take action against money laundering, structuring, criminal transferring and funding of terrorism, violent crime and organized crime activities. It also entails electronic surveillance and immigration control. The various provisions of the PATRIOT ACT have any financial institution collecting SS #'s as a requirement for an account. A company, like an insurance company for example, charges you a fee that they hold until you are eligible for a payment (a claim). Sometimes the insurance company is a class 3 banking institution (like State Farm that has physical banks and internet banking). Sometimes an insurance company deposits their holdings directly with the Federal Reserve due to the volume of funds. In both cases the company falls under the provisions outlined in the Act.

[adirondakjack]

I'm not going to provide a full history lesson or social studies course but will be brief. Some of this has to do with the PATRIOT ACT which directly changed the Bank Secrecy Act and Money Laundering Control Act. The record keeping and reporting requirements of banks, banking institutions and "depository instituions" (like insurance companies). The collection of a social security number is one tool to make account holders responsible and well, accountable. The big picture is to limit, detect, intercept and take action against money laundering, structuring, criminal transferring and funding of terrorism, violent crime and organized crime activities. It also entails electronic surveillance and immigration control. The various provisions of the PATRIOT ACT have any financial institution collecting SS #'s as a requirement for an account. A company, like an insurance company for example, charges you a fee that they hold until you are eligible for a payment (a claim). Sometimes the insurance company is a class 3 banking institution (like State Farm that has physical banks and internet banking). Sometimes an insurance company deposits their holdings directly with the Federal Reserve due to the volume of funds. In both cases the company falls under the provisions outlined in the Act.

In other words, they have to ask nowadays. Joe, when ya renew yer DL or change address yer gonna need a Birth Certificate and a SS card or DMV will refuse.... Times they are a changing, and we're a whole lot closer to "Papers please" than we wanna admit.


Oh, one "loophole" being closed by the Ins. co requirements is folks who own ins co annuities often conveniently forget to list them (or the face value of paid up insurance) when they are required to list assets like when applying for rent-subsidized senior housing, medicaid, etc., or when being sued. The government wants to know EVERY dollar ya have that ain't in yer matttress.

[jnyork]

Like it or not, we all have a serial number now.

Big Brother likes it that way.

[Blaine]

My company will refuse water service without a SSN. State requires it for all accounts.

[wecsoger]

Go to 'clarkhoward.com' and look at the info about freezing your credit report information with the big three reporting companies.

[draperjojo]

I don't give it out, or give one out thats got a couple numbers transposed....oooops.....

[Pisgah]

The Social Security Act made use of a Social Security number for ID a crime -- and then, the government promptly started using the number for ID on everybody.

Like it or not, it is one of the numbers by which we are all ID'd. The insurance companies need it to give you a quote -- any quote done without it will not be worth a hoot, so most just insist on having it. They are checking your credit among other things, sometimes, like criminal record.

[J Miller]

In other works Bush II put us right into the KGB and "Komrad, papers please" with the Patriot Act. And to think I voted for that jerk.

Thanks for the info. Now I'm bummed, big time.


Joe

[Mescalero]

I voted for him too Joe,
none of us saw the 911 deal or the Patriot Act coming,
we ALL got blindsided.
And remember no one asked us what we thought of the act, we just " got " it.

[J Miller]

I voted for him too Joe,
none of us saw the 911 deal or the Patriot Act coming,
we ALL got blindsided.
And remember no one asked us what we thought of the act, we just " got " it.

Yeah, I remember all that. I think it was the GOA that listed all the bad things about this law, cos I did email my congress critters about it.
But the IL commies never listen to anybody that don't live in Chicago.

joe

[Hobie]

The military has been using the SSN for a service number since, well, before I went into service. The state of VA was using it on drivers' licenses but we got that changed. Still, although it is illegal to copy the VA driver's license, everybody does it, including VA government entities.

[Blaine]

No offense, but it's much ado about nothing. If (no pun intended) your number comes up and someone wants to clone you, your just SOL, and what you have given out or not makes no difference...you will get screwed.

[AJMD429]

Doctors offices are even required to do some sort of 'anti-money laundering' check; I know we now get audited to see if OUR 'homeland security' policies are acceptable and that includes some of this credit stuff.

Of course the other thing is the rush to get ALL medical records on the internet (90% already ARE), so the insurance companies can sift through them to find reasons to deny coverage, raise rates, or accuse doctors of not obeying the proper 'protocol', and so the government (who needs NO signed release from the patient to access any and all health care records) can similarly browse for 'data'.

As a society, we brought much of this on ourselves the minute we quit paying our own way, and wanting others to pay for our health care or whatever; naturally those 'others' want to know what they're paying for, and for whom.

[Hobie]

No offense, but it's much ado about nothing. If (no pun intended) your number comes up and someone wants to clone you, your just SOL, and what you have given out or not makes no difference...you will get screwed.

Saw that with the one e-mail account...