Elimination of Social Security Numbers for Identification Within the Department of Defense
Abstract
Identity theft affects approximately ten million Americans each year and costs consumers and businesses more than $53 billion in losses. In a 2003 study conducted by the Identity Theft Resource Center, fraudulent charges were reported to average more the $90,000 per name used, and the average time spent by victims trying to correct their credit standing was approximately 600 hours. The widespread use of social security numbers (SSN) as a means of individual identification and the compromise of that information, has significantly contributed to the rise in cases of identity theft. Current Department of Defense (DoD) strategies aimed at protecting service members from identity theft are inadequate because they do not address the fundamental vulnerability represented by the use of SSNs as service member identification numbers.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA499015
Entities
People
- M. E. Cover
Organizations
- Marine Corps University