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**Aguila Blanca** · July 30, 2012, 05:43 PM

I'm old enough to remember when it was illegal for any business to even ask for your social security number. The SSAN was, by law, to be used ONLY for Federal income tax and social security reporting purposes.

Now it has morphed into a near-universal personal identifier ... and people wonder why there's a proliferation of identity theft. As nearly as I can remember, the military started it, in 1968 when they started using social security numbers rather than service numbers.

July 30, 2012, 05:43 PM	#13
Aguila Blanca Staff Join Date: September 25, 2008 Location: CONUS Posts: 18,458	I'm old enough to remember when it was illegal for any business to even ask for your social security number. The SSAN was, by law, to be used ONLY for Federal income tax and social security reporting purposes. Now it has morphed into a near-universal personal identifier ... and people wonder why there's a proliferation of identity theft. As nearly as I can remember, the military started it, in 1968 when they started using social security numbers rather than service numbers.