I got tired of the phone company, cable company, etc wanting the last four digits of my SS# so I asked if I could get those changed to a password and they agreed.

When I was living in Georgia your driver's license number was your social security number unless you requested another number which I did.

They used to use if for a lot of university IDs too.

They used to use if for a lot of university IDs too.

At UW-Madison, they acknowledged that it would be against the law for them to use our SS# for our univeristy ID number. So, they would take your SS# and stick an extra number on the end. Clever, huh?

They used the SS# for my student ID, which is probably the only reason I have it memorized.

The whole identity theft thing reminds me of ye olde magic trope, where if you tell your whole name to someone they have power over you. In this case, if you tell your whole name, DoB, SS#, current address . . .

Really, in the days of cut-and-paste identity theft's just as easy as going under name-based thrall to a Supernatural Entity.

This is not helping my paranoia over the credit card that was apparently supposed to show up over 2 weeks ago and hasn't (and I didn't discover this until last night.) Need to call this afternoon.

The good news is, it hasn't been activated or used (it's a replacement to the current one, so I can look it up.)

At UW-Madison, they acknowledged that it would be against the law for them to use our SS# for our univeristy ID number. So, they would take your SS# and stick an extra number on the end.

Oh yeah, I think at UW-Milwaukee my number was SS#-01. Thanks, guys, they'll never crack that code.

my bank is changeing the log in procedures - it has both things for me to recogonize - so I know the site hasn't been spoffed and a bunch of different way for them to be sure it is me.

I think I'm going to steal sarameg's identity. The tortie doesn't stand a chance.

Oh, that's annoying. And restrictive.

and illegal, I would think.

UVA used the SSN as a student ID number as well. I used to have it printed on my checks, because you could write a check any where in Charlottesville with a student ID and I got tired of writing it down all of the time.

I got it changed from my DL a long time ago, before it was cool. I once had a store clerk accuse me of having a fake ID because the number was "wrong". I was like "I'm buying a sweater, not beer!" I, of course, had them call the manager and merriment ensued.

At my old address, I received a lot of mail that had the flap torn up at one end of the envelope (just enough so one hypothetically might discern the contents of the envelope). After a while, I noticed that this was more likely to happen if the envelope appeared as if it might contain a greeting card or a credit card. At first I thought that evildoers were checking my mail after the carrier had inserted it in my mailbox, but eventually I discovered that it was happening even when I got the mail before any non-postal worker would have a chance to get to it.

Chicago mail sucks.