You don't say....
I remember the bad old days when you had to put the SSN number of your spouse on a check if you wrote one at the Commissary, PX or Class Six. Thankfully those archaic rules no longer exist, but each day service members expose themselves to identity theft unnecessarily, and it's time for the DoD to implement procedures that would radically minimize the risk.
A new report warns of the danger.
Military personnel are at high risk for identity theft because of the way their Social Security numbers are used, a report by an intelligence expert concludes.Lt. Col. Gregory Conti, who served in Army intelligence before becoming a professor at West Point, told The New York Times soldiers are required to give their Social Security numbers as identifiers for dozens of everyday activities.
Those activities range from filling out health forms to checking out basketballs at the gym.
Service members and their families are burdened with a work environment that shows little regard for their personal information," Conti's report said.
Last year, after totally embarassing myself, I had to get a new ID card. I was psyched about it because I thought a new policy had kicked in. It had not, at least not fully. My husband's full SSN remains on the card.
About LTC Conti's report:
Representatives of the military told the Times they are aware of the problem and are taking steps to fix it.
Faster, please.
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UPDATE: A more comprehensive article can be found here.
