potentially sucky situation

[KellyHabersham]

*This guy wasn't exactly an SC, but he did seem a bit impatient/frustrated that I couldn't immediately answer his questions (this being when he made a "follow-up call"), and if he cannot be helped & gets sucky about it, it's me who'll have to take the heat*

Earlier this week, I'd received a call in the church office from a "Billy Luther", saying that he'd been baptized there in the late 1970s, and wanted to know about getting a copy of the baptism certificate, or having something made up. (he didn't mention why he needed this) This in itself wasn't an unreasonable/sucky request, but I have concerns about potential suckage because of the following:

- I've not yet had a chance to talk to the women who do handle membership records, but I have a feeling we may not still have "Billy Luther's" baptismal info on file, and if we do not, that's going to be really awkward to explain to him.

- I don't know too much about making out baptismal certificates in the first place, so that's also going to be a problem.


Anyhow, most likely I'm just being all paranoid, but it irks me sometimes that I'm the on who's least qualified to handle certain things, but I end up being the one who's expected to do so.

[EvilEmpryss]

Alarms should be going off: a baptismal certificate is one of the documents one can use to get a social security number (if the religious record was made prior to age five and shows his age at the time of baptism or his date of birth).

This guy *could* be on the up and up, but I'd be *real* careful to make him prove who he is prior to handing over documentation. If you don't have a record of him on file, but you make up a certificate anyway, then there could be problems later down the road with the SSA. Just somethign to keep in mind.

[sirwired]

I suspect it's a perfectly legitimate request. A baptism certificate is used as proof of being Baptised and/or Catholic if you are getting married by a Catholic priest. However, I would deny his request to make one up if you can't find the record. I'm sure it happens all the time, and there are procedures he can do to get married without that certificate. (Probably just some routine paperwork the bishop has to sign...)

I doubt this is a fraud to get a SSN, as a man born in the '70's in the U.S. is going to have a hard time explaining to the SSA why he doesn't already have a SSN. (The SSA wasn't born yesterday... they won't even take a copy of a birth certificate that you supply as proof; it has to come directly from the appropriate records office.)

SirWired

[KellyHabersham]

*an update of sorts*

The good part is that this was a legitimate request - "Billy" is the son of a woman who's been a longtime congregation member, and we did have some baptismal info on file. Unfortunately, we don't keep copies of the actual certificates on file, and it's turned out that is what "Billy" needs. (I've not asked what for, but ironically enough, it IS a Catholic church which is requesting this info from him)
Anyhow, we do have blank baptismal certificate forms, and hopefully the other church will accept the info being handwritten in, otherwise there's going to be a problem......let's just say that I'm not "technologically challenged", but the way such certificates have to be done via computer/printed out, I am not familiar with.