My prediction

[serene]

US-centric prediction:

I predict that eventually, there will be an LJ meme that asks: "What are the last 4 digits of your Social Security number?"

I predict at least a few people on my friendslist will answer that question.

Comments

[cerulean-me.livejournal.com]

Seriously?

I wouldn't. The last four of my social are how some of the people I have accounts with identify me.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly. This week, I've seen people answering "What's your mother's maiden name?" and "What was the name of your first pet?" and it occurred to me (again) how identity-thefty those questions are. I've even answered the pet one here, I think, so I'm not immune.

[cerulean-me.livejournal.com]

I won't use my mom's maiden as a security question- or first pet's name. My mom's current last name is her maiden, and one can flip through an online photo album to get my first pet's name...

I'm a little paranoid. ;-)

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Sometimes you don't have a choice. Sometimes banks, for instance, use mother's maiden name as a default security question.

[redbird]

On the other hand, I recall someone who was "thinking about changing his mother's maiden name" after identity theft; no reason not to do it before (except that I'd have to remember which accounts I'd given the old one and which the new).

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

It may be the default question, but in every bank I've come across, you write in the answer yourself. Finally, banks seem to be wising up and asking you to supply your own question and answer that no-one else will know the answer to.

Although you still get idiots like Geocities who ask for 'the answer to your security question' but won't tell you what the question was 'for security reasons'. Or the US Passport Office, that has an automated booking system that crashes if you don't have a SS number and try entering 000 000 000 which is what non-SS-holders put on the passport forms...

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Yes, I've mentioned using a different answer; it's the question one might not have a choice about.

[pantryslut.livejournal.com]

I think both of those are terrible security questions, anyway.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

So do I. I have answers in my head for them that are not the real answers. I use those.

identity theft

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

yeah, this always astounds me. though it also astounds me that anyone still uses truthful answers for those if a bank insists on such a lame "security" question.

i don't use my mother's maiden name for anything (*shudder*), but i still don't fill it out on memes since it's personally identifying information. pet, now, that i could answer, because i don't use it for anything, and it's not useful to an identity thief who might do a little social engineering.

[lcohen]

this gave me an 867-5309 earworm, dang it.

[arfur]

I lived next to the guy with that phone number at Brown my Junior year.

[snippy]

But it's a great song!

[sagefemme11.livejournal.com]

Oh nooooooo!
Now I've got it in my head!!!!

867-5309

[pir-anha.livejournal.com]

damn you.


:)

[karenthecroccy.livejournal.com]

6359

*grin*

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

Heh.

[karenthecroccy.livejournal.com]

Had to do it! *grin*

In all seriousness, one college I went to used the last four numbers plus the first four letters of our last name as our email. Thanks SUNY!

[hel]

When I started at my current college, your ENTIRE socsec was your student ID. It wasn't til last year they gave random student IDs, and in all the various systems, most people are still IDed by their socsec!

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

I've gone to maybe ten colleges. This is the second one that didn't use the SSN for the student ID.

[suzimoses.livejournal.com]

"In all seriousness, one college I went to used the last four numbers plus the first four letters of our last name as our email. Thanks SUNY"

My university posted our grades by our /full/ SSNs, often in open hallways. *sigh* In addition, they were our student id numbers, printed on the cards we were required to carry everywhere. They've learned better now.

Suzanne

Soc

[(Anonymous)]

Pity it isn't three digits. I'd give 666, just for the fun of it. I hate the places that ask for first pet's name (actually, I had two pets that could, by different measures, each be considered my first) or mother's maiden; giving and then keeping track of a false answer is a good idea. I prefer the ones that ask you to write your own question, and then answer it. Much more secure. Some of those things I keep written down somewhere in some sort of a code (I know, security risk too) because I'll never remember them all - especially the ones I was more cryptic on.

[elissaann.livejournal.com]

So that I'll know when people are receiving their stimulus check from the US government?

[pure-agnostic.livejournal.com]

Lucky for me, my social security number only has hexadecimal digits. That should make it harder for them.

[dbubley.livejournal.com]

SFSU used the ss# for ID until 2006. In financial aid we used the last 4 digits on a student's aid file. The Univ. of MO-Columbia didn't even do this back in the 70's.