From: "E. ALLEN SMITH" <EALLENSMITH@ocelot.Rutgers.EDU>
Date: Sat, 18 May 1996 04:56:12 +0800
To: unicorn@schloss.li
Subject: Re: Fingerprinting annoyance
Message-ID: <01I4S7OCDTOG8Y5FF6@mbcl.rutgers.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


From:	IN%"unicorn@schloss.li"  "Black Unicorn" 15-MAY-1996 19:40:34.88


>It means essentially the IRS and banks.  Even banks have little recourse.
>They make you sign a piece of paper that says you gave them the right SSN,
>but practically speaking no one cares.

>Equifax (a credit reporting agency) refuses to take bank records as
>evidence of SSN's because they KNOW the banks don't care or enforce and
>that people lie to or make mistakes to the bank on a daily basis.

	Fascinating. I would think the IRS would care - that's how they know
how to tax interest. They don't put any pressure on the banks to get the right
one? I seem to recall showing the bank a driver's license or some such with
a SSN on it the last time I opened an interest-bearing account.
	As I recall, government branches are authorized to get SSNs - if they
show you the privacy act paperwork. If they forget, I would suppose that
lying to them is perfectly permissible. What about if they do?
	-Allen