Really Lady? Are you trying to get your identity stolen?

[Eevie]

I find it interesting just how different this one of thing is around the world. When I typed up the post it didn't occur to me how well it would translate to someone across the globe. The more you know I guess.

[fireheart]

Social Security numbers are now issued to Americans shortly after they're born (parents have to apply on their kid's behalf, IIRC). It's something that identifies an individual for their entire life and is used for tax purposes, among other things. If someone gets hold of another person's number, they have all they need to steal that person's identity - for ex., they can use it to apply for credit cards, and if the real owner has good credit, the ID theft gets a card in their name and can go on a crazed spending spree, and the real owner of that number ends up fighting the bill with Visa or whoever.

Not all states use that number for the driver's license number. I think NY used to, but doesn't anymore.

So basically for Aussies, the closest equivalent would be a combination of a tax file number, Medicare number and a Centrelink number.

Over in my state, when you apply for a drivers licence, if you want to apply for other licence/s, they use the same number across all of them.

[Canadian In Maine]

When I was in the armed forces, it was my military serial number.

A friend of mine who is a Captain in the Army has her SSN stamped on her bank checks. I was horrified.

[Ironclad Alibi]

My social security card has "Not to be used as identification" on it. But it was issued way back in the dark ages*, and I think that notation has since disappeared.

* dark ages = way before Internet.

[wolfie]

And now I await your post about the SC who refused to show ID.

What would be more to the point would be if SC (or GA, or NV, or LA ...) refused to show MO - after all, that's the "show me" state.