More about the Social Security Death Index

More about the Social Security Death Index...read what the Connecticut Ancestry February eNews has to say:

On a different topic, one of the important record sets used by

genealogists nationwide is under threat. Both the House of

Representatives and the Senate, have introduced bills which supposedly

are aimed at curbing identity theft. However, they contain incorrect

information about the role that the Social Security Master Death File

(known to genealogists as the Social Security Death Index or SSDI) is

playing in identity theft. The Subcommittee for Social Security of the

Committee for Ways and Means of the House of Representatives held a

hearing in early February on the subject. The committee allowed

testimony at the hearing only from people they invited to speak. Every

single speaker declared, with no documentation, that the SSDI was a

major cause of identify theft and that it needs to be closed to the

public. Not a single voice was permitted to state the facts: the SSDI

was created to prevent identity theft, that the financial institutions

and the Internal Revenue Service are not using it properly, that proper

use (comparing SSNs for tax returns or new bank accounts to the SSDI

will identify SSNs that have already been used) will prevent fraud, that

these institutions must follow the rules that are already in place and

the misuse of SSNs will no longer be a problem.



We in Connecticut know that having open records does not contribute to

crimes of identity theft. The rate of such crimes is no higher here than

elsewhere in the country. It is very important that we, the genealogy

community, express our opinions about this outrageously skewed idea of

where the problem actually lies. The Records Preservation and Access

Committee (RPAC) has created a kit to help us understand the problem and

take action to prevent restrictions on open records. You can find the

information here. http://www.fgs.org/rpac/sddi-call-to-action-kit/



This is extremely important. If this database is closed, I believe it

will be just the beginning of closing multiple resources to us. We

cannot let it happen. Please sign the petition (which would take the

matter out of the hand of Congress and put it into the hands of the

Executive Branch). The deadline is March 8, so please act immediately. I

have heard reports of some technical difficulties with the petition, but

please be persistent. Also, contact your congress member and your

senators.



We should not be persuaded by Congress's incorrect information. The SSDI

is not a major tool for identity theft, and any few incidents could be

prevented by tightening the rules. We, and all the members of the

public, have a right to use this resource as it was originally intended.