Cops Need My SSN Why?
June 26, 2006 | Leave a Comment
I was recently awoken in the middle of the night to a huge crash. A drunken guy had driven full speed into a group of trees across the street from my house. I was the first on the scene, the first to interact with the driver. When it came time for me to give a report to the police, there was a short form for me to fill out.
On the form was a field for SSN. I opted to leave this blank. When I gave the completed for the the officer, he gave me trouble about omitting the SSN. I offered to provide my drivers license number, but refused to give my SSN.
When he pressured me further, I told him he had no legal right to require my SSN in this situation. He pleaded further getting increasingly annoyed with me. Luckily I was within my house, within my rights and confident with both. He eventually left, I maintained the security of this piece of information.
How many others would have? How often do these gestapo techniques work on the uninformed public? I fear they get most SSNs, store them insecurely, and never think much about it.
We need more education in the general public about privacy and identity theft. If Bush can use fear tactics to steal our personal freedoms and privacy, can’t we fear the public into standing up and protecting these things?
Tags: accident, cop, cops, identity, identity management, police, ssn