The Social
Security Number Protection Act, which was signed by President Barack Obama
in December 2010, Prohibits federal, state, or local agencies from: (1)
displaying the Social Security account number of any individual, or any
derivative of such number, on any check issued for any payment by the agency;
or (2) employing, or entering into a contract for the use or employment of,
prisoners in any capacity that would allow them access to the Social Security
account numbers of other individuals.
However, legislation was
introduced in July seeking to prohibit display of Social Security numbers on
Medicare cards.
Currently, 33 states bar the
use of Social Security numbers on health insurance cards.
Social Security numbers are
valuable to identity thieves because they help them side step one part of the id verification process. When
combined with birth dates for age verification, Medicare cards prove to be a powerful resource for fraudulent
activity.