WASHINGTON — The Social Security Administration has failed to inform tens of thousands of Americans that it accidentally released their names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers in an electronic database widely used by U.S. business groups.
The federal agency has kept silent about a
potentially harmful security breach of the personal data of about 14,000 people each year, ignoring recommended reporting guidelines for such confidentiality breaches and violating the intent, at least, of the U.S. Privacy Act which protects personal information of private citizens.
The mistakes Social Security has made — and continues to make — with a database called the “Death Master File” underscore how federal consumer protection laws lag far behind most of the nation. Legislation in 46 states makes disclosure of such breaches mandatory, although federal agencies generally are exempt from state and local laws.
“I certainly have never been warned about this. I totally object to that,” retired University of Tennessee agriculture professor John Jared, 68, said after a reporter recited his Social Security number and date of birth, gleaned from the database. “I’m glad to know about this.”
Jared was one of 31,931 living Americans found in a Scripps Howard News Service review of three copies of the Death Master File. These files, which are available for purchase from many sources on the Internet, contained their Social Security numbers and birthdates — critical information needed by identity thieves.
“That’s just not supposed to be public information — especially not my Social Security number,” Jared said. “This needs to be corrected.”
Reporters interviewed dozens of people nationwide who have suffered security breaches because of what Social Security officials have called “inadvertent keying errors” by federal workers when entering what was supposed to be information only about dead people. None reported the federal agency warned them about the breach of their confidential information.
Most of those erroneously listed as dead who were contacted for this story said they only found out about the agency’s mistakes when they suffered adverse events like frozen bank accounts, cancelled cell phones, refused job interviews, declined credit card applications, denied apartment leases or refused mortgage and student-assistance loans.
Such events are common when the names and Social Security numbers of living Americans mistakenly are placed onto the official list of deceased persons, the investigation found.
“Our government really needs some shaping up,” said Laura Todd, 58, a Nashville woman who twice was falsely listed on the Death Master File. “I spent almost 10 years trying to get this all straightened out. No one ever sent me an apology or anything.”
Social Security officials admit that, each year, they accidentally release personal information of about 14,000 living Americans by posting their files among the records of 90 million deceased Americans.
If their estimate is accurate, confidential data about more than 400,000 living Americans have been released since 1980 when the Death Master File became public under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit.
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