Here's a real gem:

The nine companies that know more about you than Google or Facebook

Ain't it grand?!

Aargh!!!

I can see how they acquire pretty much all of their data, but Social Security Numbers?

Can anybody explain how they harvest SSNs other than as a result of gross consumer negligence?

Yes. Gross institutional negligence.

Below the 49th virtually every time you turn around you give some third party your SSN. Medicare/Medicaid, most other medical insurance, etc use the SSN as their ID number. I wouldn't be surprised if your local public library requested it when you applied for a card. And of course any bank or credit reporting agency throws it about without regard for privacy.

(Just so you know, north of the 49th the equivalent to the SSN is usually guarded and is certainly not used for the purposes indicated above. In fact, it is illegal for any agency to demand that number unless it is required for tax reporting purposes — ie, bank accounts, paid employment, and the like.)

Actually South of the 49th it is technically illegal to use the SSN as an identification number for anything except income tax and social security. But there are exceptions for the convenience dog the government. Medicare and Medicaid use the SSN+ A or B how secure is that? The U.S. military used to have their own unique service numbers but after the passage of that law they changed to the SSN with a two character prefix that magically transforms it from an illegal use of the SSN to a legal military service number. It is justified because that limits the use to government and medical entities or anyone associated with the medical field such as health insurance providers and supposedly they are covered by the Health Insurance Privacy Act (a.k.a. HIPA). Other than that private companies will be punished for using the SSN in any form. That only exposes the SSN to what — maybe ⅔ of the population of the U.S. and service providers in most of the third world. Banks and other financial institutions get away with using the SSN because it is not used as an identifying number in their data systems.

Once the info is out there (resident in one or more of the 9 companies, for example), it's "ball game". The fat lady has sung, and all your laundry is hanging on the line for all to see and exploit.
Now are we having fun?!
(Three fingers of 100 proof Smirnov should do the trick.)

Oops, yeah, there is that.

Not to minimize the potential, though, I don't recall ever having heard of a security breach that involved SSNs; are you aware of any? (I wonder if the SSA has a contingency plan to change SSNs should the need arise?)

Valley National Bank once sent me a letter that identified me by my SSN, and when I complained, they told me that it was OK because they disguised the number by leaving out the hyphens.

I feel way more at risk from walking around with my Medicare card than I do from Internet villains.

309,079 UMD Social Security numbers compromised
Data breach could affect 30,000 Iowa State students
Thousands of social security numbers stolen from Seattle Archdiocese database
Millions of South Carolinians' social security numbers stolen
55,000 Social Security Numbers exposed in VFW.org security breach

Correction: It was actually Sovereign Bank.

Did you know that you can tell where someone was born using the first three digits?

"Structure", here, says "Nope". (It also debunks the notion I've always had that the two middle digits had something to do with the year in which a card was issued.)

Confusing, to say the least.

I'm not sure, it says the first three numbers are where the card was issued (usually where you were born) but I'm not totally clear about what they are saying.

I think the defining sentence is


It may, but doesn't always.

Well, it's possible to get a new SSN, but it's far from a panacea, may even be a lousy idea, and is a daunting task.

See this SSA doc.

I assume that you recently got the same notification I got...advising me that a new Medicare card with a unique ID # is in the mail.

About time!

And how long will it take before that is totally compromised in one way or another?

Re: (Just so you know, north of the 49th the equivalent to the SSN is usually guarded and is certainly not used for the purposes indicated above. In fact, it is illegal for any agency to demand that number unless it is required for tax reporting purposes — ie, bank accounts, paid employment, and the like.)

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Actually, there are a couple of INSURANCE companies in Canada (of which I am aware) who use one's S.I.N. for identification purposes (e.g. when submitting claim forms). Thus, not only government agencies above the 49th collect the S.I.N. as ID - whether legal or not legal to do so.

If their's an old # ---> new # algorithm, about two or three hours.

But at least Medicare recipients will no longer have to walk around with their SSNs in their pockets.

No, but for the next year or even longer Medicare recipients will be re-filling out hundreds of pages of the same information at every medical facility they go to to for any reason. I just went to my regular physician this morning for the first time this year and had to fill out the same 10 - 12 pages of information and releases, I filled in at the beginning of last year. Once the new Medicare cards arrive, that will all have to be re-done, probably finished just in time before the whole process has to be repeated for FY 2019. :AAARRRRGGGHHH:

I'd take the trade-off even if I went to doctors.

SSNs on Medicare cards has long been a pet peeve of mine, and the fix is WAAAY past due.

But why do you think the new cards will necessitate redoing the forms? Your (my, anyhow) SSN appears only once, on page 1. Do your docs use bound sets?

None of my doctors used bound sets, all have converted all of their records to computer files. But every year I have to fill out the same paper forms and a clerk transcribes the data into their computer.

You'd think that the update procedure would be computerized by now.

The only doctor I see regularly, i.e. annually, is my ophthalmologist, and he's never even asked me to update, let alone redo my paperwork.

I dunno... Degree of paranoia, i.e. fear of lawsuits, or (foolish?) lack thereof?

Required by Medicare actually.

Please don't tell my doctor; I hate filling out those forms.

You guys south of The Great White North really need to lobby for and get a national health care program!
Ours may not be the greatest, but I've never had to fill out any forms to get benefits.
And though we may be Johnny-come-latelies, 'twould appear that we'll be getting a Pharmacare program in the near future.

The forms are to protect doctors in the event of lawsuits.

But not to be overlooked, they provide them with your (more or less) complete medical history, so they're mutually beneficial.

Some sort of update schedule really is a good idea, except for the onerous forms.

I don't now why you guys need prescription insurance; your drug prices are ridiculously low already.

Our province-wide electronic recording system (eHealth) circumvents the necessity for such. Reports of all medical visits to family physicians, hospitals, referrals to specialists, prescriptions, lab work, diagnostic imaging (such as X-ray, MRI, ultrasound), vaccinations are filed centrally. These then can called up by medical professionals as and when required — without the necessity of having the patient repeatedly filling out forms.
So, for example, if I have a recurrent issue with my GIT and require diagnostic and intervention away from home (but within the province), all past history is available to the attending physicians which then might preclude some additional diagnostic testing and acquire effective attention more quickly.


Not as much as you might think. And just like below the 49th it's the least able who pay the penalty.

We're also a bit behind the rest of the civilized world in trying to arrange drug-purchasing clout. Recently, several provinces have banded together to arrange bulk purchases of many drugs. The national approach would provide even better deals.

On our side of the border, a nation wide mandate for computerizing health records was supposed to accomplish the same thing. Unfortunately each practice got to choose the system they want to use which of course created instant database compatibility issues. But even before those could be addressed privacy issues got in the way. Add to that the real fear that employers might tap into that database and use it for hiring, firing, promotion, etc. (driven by the employer's health insurance costs) and HIPA was born. The fact is a national network such as yours is not going to happen until we have single payer health care.

At least your provinces can negotiate for drug prices. In this country the largest and most influential health care payer, Medicare/Medicaid, is forbidden to negotiate drug prices.

Y'know, there's something just plain CRIMINAL about that!

I forgot to mention that you can check the status of your new card at New Medicare Card | Medicare.gov.

Re: " . . . all past history is available to the attending physicians which then might preclude some additional diagnostic testing and acquire effective attention more quickly."

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True for the most part. However, one does have the option to PASSWORD protect their medical info in some cases so that not everyone and his dog has access to one's history. (P.S. I am speaking from BC. Other provinces may have differing policies.)

Your note brings up the tangential point which I forgot to mention: Our single-payer system is federal, funded through income taxes; the federal government then disburses health funds to the provinces which are responsible for health care delivery.

Technology, thy name is Big Brother. Oh yeah, it just gets better and better ... NOT.

Alexa and Siri Can Hear This Secret Command. You Can’t.

Researchers can send hidden audio instructions undetectable to the human ear to Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa and Google’s Assistant.

Hey, Alexa, What Can You Hear? And What Will You Do With It?

If ya got 'em, kill 'em. Now. Before the uprising. It'll be way too late then.

Technology, thy partner's name is Sloth. None of this stuff can exist unless enough people are too lazy to do things for themselves.

I am not sure why some folks still haven't got it. All this "wonderful" technology comes at a cost and that is privacy. This is the tradeoff . . . if one wants the "conveniences."

I am not suggesting that there shouldn't be mechanisms in place to help protect our privacy. I am just saying that we should not be surprised these days when we find our privacy has been breached in one way or another.

Don't malign the lovely sloth — three-toed (Bradypus spp) and two-toed (Choloepus spp). They've got enough worries trying not to go extinct.

The terms "lazy" and "crap for brains" pretty much cover the behaviorally descriptive aspect of those who jump on and then get rolled over by the tech bandwagon. Sooner or later they'll pay the piper qua scammer and get exactly what they deserve. Amen.