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Comment by simplicio | Hacker News Reader

Eh, I still think the best thing for the gov't to do in regards to SS numbers is just publish them all in an open database accessible to anyone. That would put an end to banks and such trying to use them as a way to verify identity.

SS are useful as a unique identifier for Americans. But the weird process by which they've become some sort of "password" for accessing credit and such in someones name is crazy, and pretty obviously not working.

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> Eh, I still think the best thing for the gov't to do in regards to SS numbers is just publish them all in an open database accessible to anyone.

They basically are available to any business that needs them. Just takes a few months to go through the compliance process for an identity verification company. See https://cognitohq.com/docs

Regarding it being a password, yeah that is pretty bad. Some friends of mine are working on Bloom (https://hellobloom.io/) which is trying interesting things that hook into the real world (necessary) while also trying to create a better system eventually. Basically, an ID you control with a private key is approved by identity verification services. Your friends basically vouch for the ID being correct. Your identity is tied to that ID. If you lose the private key then you have your friends invalidate the old ID and transfer their vouch to your new ID. Way better than just a secret number.

I suspect just requiring people seeking credit to just have to come personally to a bank with a photo-ID, a pay-stub and have to confirm they have access to the postal address they have on their ID would solve it. This wouldn't by any means be foolproof (after all, half the highschool students in the US manage to get passable fake IDs), but the fact that it would increase the effort to open lines of credit, slow down the rate at which you could open new lines and increase the risk of getting arrested when you tried would, I think, shift the risk and reward balance on most scams to the extent that it wouldn't be worth it to the scammers anymore

> That would put an end to banks and such trying to use them as a way to verify identity.

Obviously it should so - but obviously, they shouldn't be using them in the first place. Doesn't seem like it would stop anyone - possibly for regulated entities like banks, maybe - but even then, they'd probably have to be dragged, kicking & screaming.

Yea, but if they were literally all published publicly, banks wouldn't even be able to pretend they provided some measure of security. Though of course whatever banks use as a replacement may be equally bad

I think Equifax just did that for them.

Just to make a pedantic point, SSNs do not indicate US citizenship or nationality. Permanent residents (green card holders) and those on temporary work visas receive SSNs.

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