Social Security information FAQ

Many of our web visitors seek specific Social Security information so we now offer you this FAQ section to help you gain answers to frequently asked questions.

Search and scan this area first. Then if your question remains unanswered, then fill in the form re: Investigator ezine or better still click on the button at left labelled Administration

Question #1: How is The Government protecting our Social Security numbers?

Answer: In the wake of September 11th 2001 and with the ongoing problem of identity theft, people who apply for a new Social Security number must now furnish at least two documents to establish their age, identity, and U.S. citizenship or lawful noncitizen status. And now Social Security must verify the birth record for all U.S.-born applicants age one and older.

Question #2: Can non-US Citizens obtain SS numbers?

Answer: The SSA no longer assigns Social Security numbers and issues cards to noncitizens for the sole purpose of applying for driver's licenses. This change makes Social Security numbers less accessible to people who may use the numbers for fraudulent purposes. The SSA.gov will continue to assign numbers to noncitizens who have INS permission to work. (People who have been thoroughly checked out by US Immigration.) Social Security information databases are tightly integrated with these Federal authorities, naturally!

*Question #3: Is there a simple, low cost way to lookup Social Security numbers?

Answer: Yes. There is a web-based tool that online investigators use to find SSNs and a person's last known address. The web site button for download is: Net Detective. (at Left) This tool has received the full endorsement of The National Association of Independent Private Investigators - NAIPI in the United States, for its ability to lookup Social Security information -especially searches of the SSDI. (Death Index).

Question #4: Can this tool give me access to other U.S. Public Records?

Answer: Yes. Court and Criminal Records, across 50 States, Adoption, Motor Vehicles, 'how to read your FBI file,' and more. Also see this one: free credit report

Question #5: How are Social Security numbers used?

Answer: There are two difficulties with the way SSNs are used these days. The first is that they are used (by different organizations, including hospitals, banks, share brokerages, driving licence authorities, universities, schools, etc.) as if they were both a representation of identity and a secure password-(some banks). The second problem is that they have become a widely used identifier which can be used to tie multiple records together about a single individual. In this Age of Information, they are used to integrate various Government departmental databases; thus issues arise about control, privacy, civil rights and freedom. Given the pressing present need for increased levels of National security, it is reasonable that some degree of individual freedom be sacrificed to ensure stricter Immigration control and general security. The SSN has become a de facto identity card in the United States of America, though that was not the original intention.

Question #6: How does the Australian situation compare with the American position above? Especially with regard to a National ID card?

Answer:-

In the United States of America, the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows US citizens to access various Federal, State and County public records, and many of these records are searchable on The Internet, such as Court Records, Court Orders, Births, Deaths and Marriages, Adoption, DMV, Social Security and Criminal Records (incl. sexual offenders) -although there are wide differences and variations from State to State, and from County to County. In the USA, Freedom of Information provisions technically allow a citizen to read his/her own FBI file.. but not the files of others!

In Australia, privacy laws are the dominant feature, and a tighter reign is held on government departments, their computer databases, and the ways in which they can release private information.

A good example of the above is the U.S. Social Security Number. The 'SSN' has become a de facto identification system for US citizens, and a way to tie different electronic records together. The official record of a citizen in the USA usually contains the last known address.. so when a private investigator is hired to find a missing person, he first asks for that person's SSN, then he enters it in an online form, hoping to get the last known address. That's also what Law Enforcement agents, such as the FBI do in the USA.

However, Australia does not yet have a National ID Card System, such as the Social Security Card. The closest thing to that in Australia, is perhaps your TFN or Tax File No. And possibly your Passport No., or your banking details, such as your credit card numbers and mortgage.. who knows? But there's nothing that we're free to look up, in a database, and especially.. nothing for everyone to access online! (Except for the electoral rolls just before an election!) The closest searchable database for finding a missing person in Australia, is actually the Telstra Whitepages.

Ongoing Investigation by Law Enforcement - State and Federal Police, and ASIO secret agents, and the Attorney General's Office - is another matter. Information is 'reachable' by the law enforcement authorities for the purposes of ongoing investigation, exactly as in the USA and the UK, but the Australian citizen is restricted by privacy laws and needs to rely on informal social networks and friends when trying to locate a missing person. In this computer age, are Australians more free than Americans? And, more private?

Question #7: Where can I find a good Social Security Disability advocate? To help with eligibility, SSI -Insurance, etc. and to represent me?

Answer: Visit this page:-

Social Security disability information

U.S. Government Dept. information

Disclaimer: We are a private informational web site to assist you ONLY. We are not the official department.

Site provides Social Security information by way of a user FAQ page. Otherwise go to www.ssa.gov

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