4 Big Problems With Social Security Numbers

A Social Security number is like a skeleton key — able to unlock a kingdom of untold riches for identity thieves. It is the central piece of data needed to hijack our credit, steal our health insurance, use us as human shields and generally wreak havoc in our lives. And every day, two branches of the U.S. government — the executive and the legislative — put our identities and sometimes even our lives at risk because of their mismanagement of Social Security numbers.

Here are four ways congressional and federal foot-dragging around the issue of Social Security numbers puts our identities at risk.

1. Medicare
2. Tax Documents
3. The Military
4. Child Identity Theft