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Comment by uobytx | Hacker News Reader

The reason the focus is on the SSN is because it enables credit. Privacy is important, but so is protecting your finances.

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Date of birth and address history (in addition to SSN of course) are often used by financial organizations to verify user identity online and on the phone.

Recently I called to report a lost credit card, for instance, and the operator read through a list of 10 addresses. I had to confirm which ones I'd lived at at some point in my life, in order to verify my identity.

Wouldn't it have been simpler and more secure to ask you for the address? I can rattle off all the addresses I've stayed at in the last 15 years with ease.

I couldn't. I am a city dweller living in a climate where almost like clockwork a post-two year rent hike makes me decide to move. not only that, being on a grid system every address tends to be some 4 digit combination of numbers very similar. Was that 1124 or 1421 10 years ago? I'd have to sit and picture the cross streets to figure it all out.

I have had previous addresses also used as a identity check. Fortunately I knew the one that I have never lived at that is on my credit reports. Trying to fix the mistake was not worth the time to me. Hopefully that does not bite me in the ass someday. Maybe the credit bureaus could check your credit rating and, if it is high enough, let you correct your credit report without much hassle. :)

When applying for credit, especially online, have you not been asked to verify some current loans from a list, or to pick out a past address from a list of addresses? I know I have. That data also enables credit.

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