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Archiver > APG > 2009-07 > 1247006219


From: "Gladys Paulin" <>
Subject: Re: [APG] APG Digest, Vol 4, Issue 412
Date: Tue, 7 Jul 2009 18:36:59 -0400
In-Reply-To: <mailman.69.1246997821.19740.apg@rootsweb.com>


You did not read the article carefully. As Joy Rich pointed out, the study
uses information in the index such as date of birth, state of issue, and
numerical portions indicating place of issue, along with otherwise available
public information, to calculate a probable social security number of living
persons to be used for identity theft.

The link in the news article will take you to a site which has the entire
paper in a free downloadable .pdf file.

Gladys

Gladys Friedman Paulin, CG

Winter Springs, FL

http://genealogybygladys.com

________________________________________________

CG, Certified Genealogist, is a service mark of the Board for Certification
of Genealogists and is used under license by Board-certified persons who
meet program standards and periodic rigorous evaluations.

Member, Association of Professional Genealogists (APG)

Message: 5

Date: Tue, 7 Jul 2009 11:25:50 -0700 (PDT)

From: Ray Beere Johnson II <>

Subject: Re: [APG] Social Security numbers

To: APG Posting <>

Message-ID: <>

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Gladys;

--- On Tue, 7/7/09, Gladys Paulin <> wrote:

> According to today's _Washington Post_, a recent Carnegie Mellon study

> outlines method for determining Social Security numbers of living people

> using the Death Index. See:

>

>
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/06/AR200907060
2955.html>

The Death Index is not used to determine the numbers of any living person.
It was used to discover _patterns_, which can then, given a few data points
such as birth date and place of birth, be used to predict that person's
number with varying degrees of accuracy. (Those born in smaller states, for
example, were assigned numbers which can be predicted with more accuracy.)

Ray Beere Johnson II



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