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Policy

Many Social Security Numbers Can Be Guessed From Birthdates

A dangerously predictable pattern was used between 1989 and 2011

Reason Staff | 8.23.2012 4:20 PM

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Think twice before posting information about your birth date online, it might be all a criminal needs to get their hands on your Social Security number.

An examination of public records has revealed a pattern in the assignment of Social Security numbers for Kansans born between 1989 and 2011, said Earl Glynn, Watchdog Labs researcher. This pattern makes it possible to guess accurately the first five or six digits of an individual's Social Security number using only his date of birth, provided he was born in Kansas, he added.

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