Industry News
Colorado agency uncovers more than 2,000 cases of SSN theft
September 19, 2006
Acting on an order from Executive Director Rick Grice, Information Systems staff at the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) recently discovered 2,249 cases of Social Security number theft.
CDLE found multiple instances of a single Social Security number being filed by more than six employers in regard to Workers' Compensation insurance. The discovery was made using data from the third quarter of 2005. In one instance, the same Social Security Number was provided by 57 different employers.
In conducting the search, the Department looked for numbers that were being used at six or more places of employment, recognizing that a number can be legitimately used several times—for instance, in situations where people have more than one job. Identity theft has been recognized as a growing problem by Colorado and in May 2006 a law was enacted making it an offense punishable by up to six years in prison.
This was a timely and important discovery by the CDLE, reacting to a problem of national concern. Congratulations to Executive Director Grice and his staff.
Note: On Point Technology's package software application, Aware, has "one-click" capability to identify multiple uses of the same Social Security number and also to determine the validity of Social Security numbers used to file UI claims.