Grassley based his comments on a new report of the General Accounting Office. He is part of a bipartisan effort in Congress seeking more information about the use of Social Security numbers (SSNs) by government agencies at the federal, state, and local level and promising practices for safeguarding individuals' privacy when using SSNs.
"All government agencies need to do more to protect Social Security numbers from misuse or outright theft," Grassley said. "That's more important now more than ever before since identity theft appears to be a prime modus operandi of the 9-11 terrorists. I'll keep working in a bipartisan way to determine how best to minimize criminal use of Social Security numbers."
According to GAO, "SSNs are often the 'identifier' of choice among thieves who steal another individual's identity." The report found that federal, state, and county government agencies rely extensively on the SSNs of those receiving public services and benefits; however, certain key measures that could help protect SSNs are not uniformly in place at any level of government.
GAO found that, "In the course of delivering their services or benefits, many government agencies occasionally display SSNs on documents that may be viewed by others, some of whom may not have a need for this personal information." GAO's survey identified potential weaknesses in the security of information systems at all levels of government.
"The report issued today along with GAO's report issued in March shows an alarming trend in the misuse of Social Security numbers. As the creator of Social Security numbers, the federal government also has to be the protector of Social Security numbers," Grassley said. "This problem needs to be taken care of."
Grassley has long been a leader in Congress in the fight against identity theft and SSN misuse. He recently joined his colleagues Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Jon Kyl of Arizona and Jeff Sessions of Alabama in introducing bipartisan legislation to increase penalties for individuals who commit crimes while using a stolen identity.
Grassley is currently co-sponsoring legislation that would make it harder for criminals to steal someone's identity by imposing additional duties on credit issuers and credit bureaus to ensure the accuracy of information in credit applications. He is also a co-sponsor of legislation to help the victims of identity theft recover from the crime and assist law enforcement personnel in catching the criminals.
To access the report, go to www.gao.gov/ , click the "GAO Reports" link, then click "Today's Reports" and last click "June 3, 2002."