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Just to culture shock Americans: it's not exactly the same but in Sweden our personal numbers are kept in the open. Even online. Searchable databases with names, phone numbers, addresses etc. It tells you if someone has a dog. It tells you if they have a car. Which car, even. Some tell you the income of the person you're searching for. Sites even exist that could tell you if I've commited a crime. Some people think that's unreasonable. Irresponsible even!
That said, as pertains to the article, the fact that he has that info seems pretty unreasonable and irresponsible.
At least in the past, you could use a person's ssn to open credit cards, change utilities, and generally ruin someone's life. Someone took out a credit card with my SSN when I was like 9 or 10 and it caused issues when I became an adult and tried to get a student loan for uni.
That is technically possible with our information too. It happens, but is bothersome. Taking out massive loans is possible too, with the right bank on the right day.
You'd need some way to verify the identity, but since such signatures are handled digitally through an app it's just a good phishing call away really. You already have the phone number and the address if you have the personal identification number.
In the US, if you know someone’s address (which is trivially easy to find online) and their social security number, you can open credit cards online.
The number itself is considered secure, so knowledge of the number is assumed to be enough identity confirmation for most applications.
Yeah, that is a problem of course. It's not a very secure system.
Ohh well in that case, I'm sure nobody would bother taking advantage of it for free money...
Oh, it totally happens. It's not that I wanted to say that it's too bothersome. Scammers will do what scammers do.
There's actually been some talk about gangs running such business from Spain. Mostly scamming old people.
It's not that we don't have all that info and more available, it's that we want you to pay a data broker for it.
Some of this data, like commited crimes, is usually behind such a barrier here too. Though it is possible, even if a bit more complex, to get that info by yourself directly from the courts.
My USA town will let you look up your taxes with just your last name and first initial. You can find out what real estate and car someone owns with that. Dog license seems to be in a different system.
My salary is public information because I'm a public employee.