| Comment Number: | 531096-00335 |
| Received: | 9/7/2007 12:51:55 PM |
| Organization: | Nemesis Group |
| Commenter: | Franklin Smith |
| State: | TX |
| Agency: | Federal Trade Commission |
| Rule: | Private Sector Use of SSNs |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I have been a Licensed Private Investigator for over 10 years. Prior to that I retired as a GS1811 Supervisory Special Agent/ Criminal Investigator from the Justice Department and was a Supervisory Fraud Investigator with a Major Insurance company. I also served as a Regional Drug Enforcement Coordinator in New Mexico. I am now a Certified Investigator in Austin, Texas and hold a current Top Secret Security Clearance. My point is that I have experience in Investigations. There are many legitimate uses of Social Security Numbers in our work but basically they provide for an efficient and effective method of telling one person from another when trying to identify an individual. There is no other method of tracking and individual that is nearly as effective. I am sure that you have heard the numerous reasons repeated many times during this study and they are all important. My main work is conducting background investigations and a large percentage of that is as a Contract Investigator with Government Departments on potential government contractors. The importance to the efficient and fair adjudication these investigations is paramount to our security. I have also done my share of insurance fraud, child custody and inheritance work and still do such cases as well as child support, child abuse and child custody cases. To restrict the access of this valuable tool to qualified and duly licensed individuals and companies in order to “protect” someone from its misuse or their privacy is foolishness. It is comparable to outlawing fire trucks because the sirens might wake someone up. I realize that societies leeches need to be restricted and punished but please do not take this valuable tool from qualified people who have a real need for it.