John, OK, in my home country, Australia, we have a tax file number that is pretty much required for all the things you mentioned - except one: it does not serve as ID.
In Hong Kong, where I live now, your ID number is no good without the ID card that it goes with. It is the card, with photo, that provides identification and not simply the number. I find what you describe as simply amazing - anyone can walk in with someone's name, address and SS number and open bank accounts, take loans, get a driver's licence, etc. I think the system you describe is irresponsible, and not the Bank. As a Bank Teller in my early working life, I am simply horrified that in the USA a person can simply waltz in and open an account with simply an SS number and no verification of the identity. In Australia there is a points system to open a Bank account. A driver's licence with a photo on it is not enough to score 100 points - you need supporting ID. I think a passport is the only single item that scores 100 points. The Tax File number, equivalent to USA SS number, scores zero. I couldn't give a toss who has my Tax File Number or my Hong Kong ID number because they are useless as identification. Ron > -----Original Message----- > From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On > Behalf Of John P Baker > Sent: Thursday, 9 June 2005 11:20 AM > To: IBM-MAIN@BAMA.UA.EDU > Subject: Re: Banks > > In the United States, a social security number is required for tax filing, > government benefits, and has essentially become a national id number, > although it was initially not intended to be used for that purpose. > > Employers must have your social security number in order to submit payroll > taxes and have them credited against your total tax liability. > > Financial institutions must have your social security number for tracking > of > financial transactions. You can not open a bank account, take out a loan, > purchase anything on credit, etc., without a social security number (or a > taxpayer id number for non-citizens). > > You can not get a driver's license without a social security number. > > The Citigroup financial information lost, or stolen, in transit is a big > potential problem in that IF it was stolen, it provides to the thieves > everything necessary to open bank accounts, etc. using someone else's name. > > It can take years and thousands of dollars for one individual to clear up > the mess. Identity theft can make it difficult or impossible to do simple > things like opening a bank account or taking out a loan. Identify theft > can > even make it difficult to get a job. > > As a Software Engineer, I can not excuse the companies who, through > neglect > or incompetence, or both, let things like this happen when the technology > is > available to protect these records from unauthorized access. > > We are not talking about a minor inconvenience here. Identify theft can > have catastrophic effects on lives. > > John P Baker > Software Engineer > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
