UK Bans Wedding Photos

Register offices in the UK are preventing newlyweds from posing for photographs while signing the register.

The new guidelines say photographs of couples signing the register could invade the privacy of others because their signatures may be visible on the same page. There are further fears that details taken from the wedding snaps could be used by fraudsters planning identity theft and that the photos could be in breach of Crown Copyright.

But critics of the move say it is absurd because the register is a public document and the information entered in it is readily available on the internet from the General Register Office.

A spokesman for the Home Office offered a few more ludicrous reasons for ending the tradition:

"It will divert the couple from making sure the information is accurate and from signing it in the right place.

"There is also a high risk of damage to the register with a fountain pen when the bride and groom are looking at the camera and not the pen." [Link]

Blogger Exonerates SSDI

Kevin Poulsen at Threat Level reports on a case where someone used the SSDI to steal identities.

Tracy June Kirkland, 42, allegedly used Rootsweb.com to find the names, Social Security numbers and dates-of-birth of people who, shall we say, had no further need for their consumer credit lines. She then "would randomly call various credit card companies to determine if the deceased individual had an … account," according to the 15-count indictment (.pdf) filed in federal court in Los Angeles Tuesday.

She'd then persuade the issuer to change the mailing address for the dead victim to one of her many rented mail drops in Orange and Riverside counties, and in some cases she'd add her own name as an authorized user of the card, prosecutors say.

At least 100 of the dearly departed were allegedly used in the scheme, which prosecutors say began in October, 2005 and continued until last month.

Poulsen went to the trouble of actually asking folks at the SSA and Rootsweb how the SSDI works—unlike the MSM journalists I wrote about here, here, and here. He found that the fault in the Kirkland case lies not with the SSDI itself, but with the lenders who didn't use it correctly. In the words of Rootsweb spokesman Mike Ward, "The reason the Social Security Administration has it out there is to prevent fraud, and when it's used to perpetrate fraud it's because not all the checks and balances were in place on the financial institution's end."

Will the Fake Willie Hayes Please Stand Up?

The burial plot of Vietnam War veteran Willie Hayes, who died in September, was found to be occupied by a man who had stolen his identity.

"I called Calverton National Cemetery to make the final arrangements. They gave us clearance to bury him," said [Isaiah] Owens, who owns the Isaiah Owens Funeral Home in central Harlem.

"Two days later, they called the funeral home back and said they couldn't schedule him for interment because they [already] have a Willie Hayes with the same Social Security number and the same date of birth and the same [military] service information."

"I've heard about identity theft in life," said Owens. "I didn't know you could steal a burial plot." [Link]

A Munstrous Crime

Are we giving identity thieves too much credit for cleverness? Someone from overseas tried recently to sell Herman Munster's identity.

The thieves apparently didn't realize Munster was a fictional TV character and dutifully offered to sell Munster's personal details - accurately listing his home address from the television series as 1313 Mocking Bird Lane - and what appeared to be his MasterCard number. Munster's birth date was listed as Aug. 15, 1964, suspiciously close to the TV series' original air date in September 1964.

CardCops Inc., the Malibu, Calif., Internet security company that quietly recorded details of the illicit but wayward transaction, surmised that a Munsters fan knowledgeable about the show deliberately provided the bogus data. [Link]

Maybe they intended to sell this guy's identity.

Colorado Hides Vital Records

Colorado's searchable database of marriage and divorce records has been taken down as part of the state's war on hypothetical identity theft.

"Given the increasing threat from identity theft, we decided we should take that information to a more confidential level," Ronald Hyman, the state registrar of vital stastics [sic] told the Daily Camera.

According to the Camera, Hyman said his department hasn't gotten any reports of stolen identities, but since the database browsers allowed people to find information such as a mother's maiden name, the Web site was taken down. [Link]

While I applaud this effort to crack down on a nonexistent crime, it does nothing to help those poor Colorado kids whose mothers kept their maiden names or chose to hyphenate. They don't stand a chance.

Canadian Man Ready to Rumble

Mark Cripps is tired of being asked if he's a member of a Los Angeles gang.

My Cripps gang arrived in Canada in the early 1800s, settling in the rough and tough towns of Barrie and Hillsdale. Since then, we have spread out across Ontario, setting up chapters in various towns including Hamilton, Kitchener, Collingwood and Toronto. Some of our members have gone beyond the south-central Ontario area to set up shop in Alberta and British Columbia.

And to be honest, we're all tired of this LA gang and its associates who are stealing our identity.

We were here first. Get a new name. [Link]

SSN Nonsense

Here's another journalist who believes that the SSDI could be useful to identity thieves.

I was doing a little genealogical research and found my father’s Social Security number in three seconds on Google. (SSNs of dead people are most coveted by thieves.) So one must say the horses already are out of the pasture. These security rules create a false sense of security where there is none. [Link]

If the writer is referring to the SSDI, those dead horses are very much still in the pasture. As I've noted before, the SSDI (or "Death Master File") is used to prevent identity theft by letting financial institutions know which SSNs are no longer in service. Valid SSNs are distributed to thieves by an entirely different government agency.

They Smell a Pulitzer

The folks at 10News in San Diego are patting themselves on the back for blowing the whistle on the SSDI.

Obituary identity thieves [are] gleaning names of the dead from obituaries, and matching them up with Social Security numbers posted on the Internet, on privately run genealogy sites and on the site run by the Social Security Administration, the Master Death Index.

10News took concerns about identity theft to the Social Security Administration, asking them to consider taking the Master Death Index off its Web site. [Link]

Apparently they didn't read my previous post explaining why they are a bunch of sun-baked nitwits. Until I hear of a single case that proves me wrong, I'll continue to maintain that no one has ever used data from the SSDI to steal someone else's identity. It's dead people not listed in the index who are vulnerable to identity theft. Once they're listed, the credit companies know that their SSNs are not valid.

By the way, asking the SSA to take the index off their website was a bold move, but I doubt they'll comply. The SSDI isn't on their website.

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

A Cause for Concern Indeed

A Texas genealogist searching for information about her family online was shocked to find information about her family online.

Delia Curlin was recently browsing the Internet for family land records and was shocked to find some of her family's personal information posted on a county web site.

"I came across one of my brother's information, date of birth, driver's license, social security number," said Curlin.

Alarmed, Curlin kept looking and found more of her relatives information.

Fearing the threat of identity theft she immediately called the Hidalgo County Clerk's office to have it removed. But to no avail.

"The gentleman that I spoke to told me that whoever prepared the document to go file it at the county, that that was the way it was written and they couldn't take any information off of it," she said. [Link]

This story neglects to mention that Texas has required since 2004 that a "Notice of Confidentiality Rights" be printed in "12-point boldfaced type or 12-point uppercase letters" on every recorded deed. For example, on this deed—which coincidentally bears the signature of one "Delia M. Curlin":

Identity Thieves Can Find Out How Tall You Are

An article posted yesterday at Computerworld offers more evidence that, when it comes to handing over sensitive information to identity thieves, genealogists can’t hold a candle to their local government officials.

The pieces of personally identifiable information found on county Web sites and made available to Computerworld by [B.J.] Ostergren and other privacy advocates included the Social Security number of Rep. Tom Delay (R-Texas) on a tax lien document; the Social Security numbers of Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and his wife on a quitclaim deed from 1999; the driver's license numbers, vehicle registration information, height, race and addresses of people arrested for traffic violations; the names and birth dates of minors from divorce decrees; and complete copies of death certificates.

But all is not lost. Darity Wesley of Privacy Solutions Inc. notes that identity thieves are far lazier than is generally thought.

There is ... little evidence to show that the public availability of personal information on government sites has contributed to an increase in identity theft, Wesley said. For most identity thieves, the chore of sifting through millions of public records for useful data simply isn't worth the effort, she added. [Link]

Speaking for myself, "sifting through millions of public records for useful data" sounds like a great way to spend a summer vacation.

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

The Truth is So Boring

10News in San Diego reported yesterday on culprits stealing the identities of the recently departed.

Thieves cull private information from newspaper obituaries and from the Internet -- mainly genealogy sites that post the Social Security numbers of the deceased taken directly from the Social Security Administration's "master death index." [Link]

But don't worry—we won't be losing the SSDI anytime soon. In truth, the role of the index is exactly the opposite of what was reported: it prevents identity theft. Here's how an SSA commissioner explained it to Congress in 2002:

SSA receives reports of deaths from a number of sources, and from computer matches with death data from Federal and State agencies. This information is critical to the administration of our program and is made available to facilitate the prevention of identify theft of the SSN's of deceased persons. Many of the private sector companies purchasing this information are credit card companies and financial institutions. [Link]

[tagged: genealogy, family tree, ancestry]

Man Steals Ancestor's Identity

A Genealogue Exclusive [What's That?]

Daniel Haines was arrested Wednesday at his home in Hallowell, Maine, and charged with stealing the identity of his ancestor, Benjamin F. Haines. The elder Haines was a veteran of the Civil War, and died in 1881 from acute chappedness of the lips.

District Attorney Janet Coulombe described the case as "the worst I've ever seen," and called for new restrictions on access to vital records in the state.

"This man was able to walk into the State Archives, look at some microfilm, and find out Benjamin Haines' date of birth, his marriage date—even his mother's maiden name! We have to do a better job of protecting the identities of our citizens."

According to Coulombe, Daniel Haines made no attempt to hide his crime, and even appeared at his son's elementary school dressed in the uniform of his victim. Haines asked to be called "Benjamin" during the school visit, never once revealing to the children his true identity as "Caleb's dad."

"We also have evidence of paramilitary activity," says Coulombe. "Haines and several dozen co-conspirators routinely disguised themselves and carried out weapons-training exercises at what they called 'encampments.' God only knows what they were planning."

Police have rounded up most of the identity-theft ring, but one member is still at large. The DA is asking for the public's help in apprehending the leader—a man they call "the Colonel."

"Please do not approach him, as he is known to carry a sidearm and sword," she warns. "Anyone spotting 'Joshua Chamberlain' should call the Maine State Police immediately. Don't be a hero."

South Dakota to Stop Recording Births

A Genealogue News Flash [What's That?]

In a move meant to protect the identities of future South Dakotans, and to curb the spread of terroristic activity in their state, officials announced Monday that they will stop issuing birth certificates.

The announcement was promptly condemned by South Dakota's genealogical societies, but was praised by privacy advocates.

"This is a bold step," gushed Melvin Ferrick of Americans for Absolute Anonymity. "Studies show that every person whose identity was stolen in the past 25 years had a birth certificate. It marks you for life."

Assistant State Registrar Barbara Werner agrees. "Identity theft is rampant in South Dakota. We had two cases just last year. This measure will cut off the supply of identities at the source—just like the War on Drugs has cut off the supply of illegal narcotics."

Critics point out that birth certificates serve legitimate purposes—whether for obtaining a passport or tracing one's ancestry. But for Werner, the dangers far outweigh these trivial benefits.

"If parents really do want to expose their children to identity theft and a life of unending terror, they should give birth in Nebraska."

[Photo by Giuseppe Crimeni]

Genealogue Exclusive: Bill Bennett Now After Genealogists

A Genealogue Exclusive [What's That?]

Former Education Secretary William Bennett, already under fire for blaming the U.S. crime rate on black toddlers, has now offended another demographic: family historians.

Bennett suggested to The Genealogue Friday afternoon that "If you really wanted to stop identity-theft in this country, you could round up all the genealogists and make them drink poisoned Kool-Aid." He went on to call this "a ridiculous and morally reprehensible thing to do, but our credit cards would be safe."

Bennett explained that some irresponsible Internet genealogists have posted information online about living persons, making the work of identity thieves much easier.

"This is just a hypothetical," Bennett said. "I'm certainly not advocating that this should be done—only that it could be done, and that I'd be willing to pay for the Kool-Aid."