Note: I wrote this a week or so ago, but decided to sit on it to ponder whether I was perhaps over-reacting, but the developing pattern of chipping away at the SSDI (check out this excellent summary by Kimberly Powell to get up to date), hastened by its sudden disappearance from RootsWeb, has prompted me to share this.
By now, you may well have tripped across one of the horrifying articles or news segments about thieves who are stealing the identities of deceased children and claiming them as dependents on their taxes. It’s heartless targeting recently bereaved parents this way, so we all naturally want to do something to address the problem, which is why Rep. Sam Johnson and Senators Dick Durbin, Bill Nelson and Sherrod Brown have all signed on in support of an initiative to end public access to the Social Security Administration’s Death Master File (frequently referred to as the SSDI, Social Security Death Index) which is now available online. Rep. Johnson has recently introduced the “Keeping IDs Safe Act of 2011” or “KIDS Act” for just this purpose.
Just one problem. Removing this database won’t put a dent in the problem. In fact, it will make it far worse.
Before going any further, I need to admit my bias. Most reading this are aware that I’m a genealogist and that this database is, along with census records, the most heavily used of all resources by genealogists across the country. I’m not exaggerating to say that it’s critical to our research and that we would all be severely handicapped without it.
“So what?,” many are likely thinking. “Genealogy is a hobby. How can you possibly weigh the pain of these parents against the needs of genealogists? No contest.”
And that’s exactly why I hesitated before writing this. But upon further consideration, I’ve decided that it’s time to speak up. You see, genealogists have been getting pounded over the past decade. In recent years, we’ve been fighting an uphill battle to retain access to records that have long been open to the public. It’s a bit of a whack-a-mole situation. As soon as we deal with an access-denial proposal in Massachusetts, another one crops up in Virginia.
It tends to be an easy victory for proponents of these efforts who cite fraud and terrorism as the reason for pulling records. No one’s for identity theft, much less terrorism, so there’s rarely any opposition, but the reality is that almost all of these initiatives address symptoms rather than root causes and that all of us are as exposed as ever. The only difference is that each instance renders genealogy more difficult, and oh, by the way, makes the United States a less free nation (apologies for that mini-rant, but I happen to be a fan of democracy).
Just a couple of weeks ago, a Presidential Memorandum for Managing Government Records, designed to “improve performance and promote openness and accountability,” declared that, “good records management is the backbone of open government.” But the pattern across the country is clearly one of closing doors, with the Death Master File threatening to become the latest example.
So before supporting Congress in this latest attempt to curtail access, please consider the following:
- The true purpose of the Death Master File is neatly summarized in this article, which explains that, “Assuming the identity of a dead person has long been a favorite ploy of criminals. Everyday, "dead" people apply for credit cards, file for tax refunds, try to buy guns and any number of other fraudulent activities. Sometimes they get away with it. More often, however, they are foiled by the Death Master file.” In other words, the very reason this database is made public is so that everyone – corporations, government agencies, and even small business owners like myself – can protect themselves against fraud. If, for instance, the IRS were to routinely run Social Security numbers included in tax returns against the death index, they might avoid giving refunds to deceased individuals. In fact, the credit card industry has made a habit of using the index to do this, as well as to reject applications that appear to be from children.
- Cyber-security reporter Gerry Smith’s recent jaw-dropping account of child identity theft reveals that, “researchers at Carnegie Mellon University earlier this year found the identity theft rate among children (10.2 percent) was 51 times higher than among adults (0.2 percent) in the same population.” Moreover, “an estimated 500,000 children have had their identities stolen by a parent.” To get some sense of scale, I tried to find figures on families victimized by fraudulent tax filers using deceased children’s identities and the only number I could find was in this article which mentions 28. While obviously understated, there’s quite a gap between 28 and half a million, which raises a question of priorities and the potential impact of proposed legislation.
- No one seems to be asking the important question of how many cases of identity theft the Death Master File prevents. Limiting access to the index might help plug the hole of these specific deceased-child cases, but will do nothing to prevent theft by parents and will create a gusher of fraud in general by removing one of the most effective deterrents. Actual identity thieves are likely delighted at the prospect of having this important impediment to their “work” eliminated. Likewise, I would expect that at least some in the security/privacy industry would welcome the fresh business opportunities the absence of this tool would afford them.
- Taking the database offline would only have an impact if criminals were not clever enough to find this information in other ways. I, for one, would much rather see Congress address ways to prevent them from buying information from underpaid government employees such as the recent case involving workers at the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. And dare I mention that the database has been sold on CD or DVD for years with unknown quantities in circulation, making slightly outdated versions available to criminals regardless?
Finally, I think it important to point out that barring access to the Death Master File would not only negatively affect genealogy hobbyists, but also bring about unfortunate side effects that few have likely contemplated. By way of example, I assist the Army with repatriation cases involving soldiers who are still unaccounted for from past conflicts. The loss of this database would make it much more difficult to locate their next of kin and relatives who could provide DNA samples to aid in their identification. Earlier today, I turned to the index to help coroners find family members of several unclaimed persons – people who would otherwise be cremated or buried without their loves ones ever knowing. This quiet epidemic would explode far beyond its current proportions without benefit of this database. And on occasion, it’s been essential in cold case assistance I’ve provided to police departments, NCIS and the FBI. These are some of the invisible trade-offs that no one seems to have given any thought to.
In short, pulling the Death Master File offline would do little to improve the very real and heart-breaking problem it’s attempting to address, but would do considerable damage in other ways. I know it sounds like an easy fix, but I would ask those involved to carefully think through the true impact and ramifications of the proposals they’re pondering to find a better solution. And I would ask others who are as concerned as I am to reach out to members of Congress, particularly those mentioned at the outset of this article.
N.B. You may find this related posting of interest: Social Security Administration extends FOIA restriction to 100 years