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user224 ,
@user224@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

There must be a way to get a replacement, right?

Anyway, what’s even the point of SSN? European asking.

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

There is. I had to replace mine due to a flood.

www.ssa.gov/number-card/replace-card

strawberry ,

identification for like taxes and whatnot

what do y'all have over there?

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

And employers prefer them for W-4 forms (which is also about taxes, granted).

superkret ,

German here. We have a social security number which just serves its original purpose of identifying you for social security.
We have a tax number for taxes.
And we have a national ID card for most other purposes where you’d need to identify yourself.
It even comes with a neat feature where you can use it for online identification and it only reveals just as much information as needed (like are you over 18 or not).

the_crotch ,

It even comes with a neat feature where you can use it for online identification and it only reveals just as much information as needed (like are you over 18 or not).

That is neat, we need that

expatriado ,

it was not the initial intent to be a multipurpose national id number, but it turned out to be that way because states rights and stuff

user224 ,
@user224@lemmy.sdf.org avatar

If I understand it correctly, a number uniquely identifying a human, then in Slovakia that would be “rodné číslo” - “birth number”.

E.g.:
891117/1236
Which is YYMMDD/(that day’s sequential number of birth)(checksum digit)

For women the month (MM) has 50 added to it.

Tar_alcaran ,

Hmm, that’s nice and easy to remember. The inbuilt gender is a bit dated though.

watersnipje ,

Gendered date formatting?? panicked software engineer noises

dejected_warp_core ,

panicked software engineer noises

Same. I was stunned into silence for about a minute, as my mind was flooded with all the corner cases that arise from something like that.

lemmylommy ,

Here is Germany it’s a bit more complicated:

We have a tax id that never changes and is assigned to every person at birth. It’s used for tax purposes. There was some opposition against it due to the centralized and permanent nature, so politicians are careful not to openly use it for other purposes. Behind the scenes it is on the way to become a universal id number for most government databases.

Then there is the tax number, which contains a number of the tax office in your region, so if you move you get a new one. Businesses also get them. This was the old system, which is still in use today.

Health insurance and pension have their own number schemes.

For identification with private parties (like banks) you use your id or passport, which have their own numbers. Owning either an id card or a passport is mandatory.

Tar_alcaran ,

Similar to the Netherlands. We have a Citizen Service Number, which is used for government stuff (taxes, welfare, etc), employment, banking and loans and related things that require you to prove you’re you.

For most other things, they write the document number of your official ID, which is not personal info, but very easily traced back to you by the police if you, say, don’t pay for your hotel room.

Barbarian ,
@Barbarian@sh.itjust.works avatar

Here in Romania we have a CNP (personal numeric code). It’s assigned at birth and is explicitly a unique identifying number for each citizen. We must have a valid ID card with that number on us at all times.

ChairmanMeow ,
@ChairmanMeow@programming.dev avatar

Difference is though that random companies aren’t allowed to use your number (unless for employment purposes). It’s also just the identifier to your person, not identification. So providing this number is not enough to prove that you are you, by law at least. Additional identification such as your id are required.

Tar_alcaran ,

True, but your saying this implies that this is NOT the case in the US?

ChairmanMeow ,
@ChairmanMeow@programming.dev avatar

It’s not. Often the SSN alone is used for identification, which is why it’s such a big deal if it leaks somewhere. And random companies can use it as well afaik, increasing the odds that it leaks online.

sites.psu.edu/…/rcl4-advertising-gone-wrong/Here’s an interesting article about a CEO of a company specialising in identity protection being so confident in his services, that he printed his actual SSN in an advertisement.

He had his identity stolen 13 times shortly afterwards.

IphtashuFitz ,

Sounds like our SSN is similar to your tax id. It’s assigned at birth and never changes.

The real problem is that for decades virtually every company and other entity that needed to uniquely identify a person used your SSN as well, despite the federal government saying it shouldn’t be used that way. For whatever reason they never enforced that, but just said “pretty please”… So now virtually everything from taxes to library books to bank accounts to utility bills are tied to our SSNs.

Mesophar ,

It’s just a form of national identification number. It’s assigned at birth, and is used as a means to legally identify an individual for government purposes (taxes, benefits, acquiring licenses and other forms of identification). They exist in Europe as well, they are just called something different than SSN. Not every country uses them, though.

Nougat ,

Not assigned "at birth," assigned when you or your parents apply for one. That normally, these days, happens shortly after birth, but it has not always been that way, and it is not an obligation.

Mesophar ,

That is fair, I gave an over-simplification. But generally it will be part of the overall process.

LifeOfChance ,

It’s an annoying process to get one buts it’s pretty easy. It’s a lot of sitting and waiting in lines

RebekahWSD ,
@RebekahWSD@lemmy.world avatar

Very easy to get a replacement, as far as things go. I’ll assume the office doesn’t require an appointment (it did during covid). Just go in, wait, talk to a clerk, explain either you never had one or lost it (I think there’s a higher charge for losing it over never having had one), pay a reasonable fee, get new card mailed to you. Out of several government things I’ve had to do, getting a card was simple.

murtaza64 ,

A DMV employee told me they’re made of denim and very hard to tear. Is that not true then?

finley ,

i know that US currency is actually a textile, not paper-- it’s 25% linen and 75% cotton. not sure about social security cards, but there is precedent for using fabric and other textiles in the creation of government documents, and it’s specifically to make them more durable.

www.bep.gov/currency/how-money-is-made

MrJameGumb ,
@MrJameGumb@lemmy.world avatar

It just feels like very sturdy paper. There may be denim involved in the making of it but you absolutely can easily tear them. I’ve had to replace one before when it got torn accidently

jake_jake_jake_ ,

they are actually made to quickly degrade when exposed to the elements so if you drop it in public it will not stay around forever for someone to find

FlyingSquid ,
@FlyingSquid@lemmy.world avatar

Is that why they tell you not to laminate it?

jake_jake_jake_ ,

yes, among other reasons pertaining to security features that are affected by lamination

Nougat ,

Mine from 1983 is just paper.

ivanafterall ,
@ivanafterall@lemmy.world avatar

I just tested it on mine and it was surprisingly easy to tear it to shreds. I don’t think there’s any denim in there.

son_named_bort ,

Ripping up the social security card doesn’t actually remove the number from the system, so the sovereign citizen accomplished nothing.

dingdongmetacarples ,

I declared it!

niktemadur ,

So what’s the next step in this brilliant plan, then?
Notify through the proper channels and with fancy legal jargon:
“I destroyed MY copy so you now have to destroy YOURS, United States government!”

BonesOfTheMoon OP ,

Notices of liability to all and sundry.

RizzRustbolt ,

sundry

Careful Boney, you’re starting to sound like them.

BonesOfTheMoon OP ,

Sometimes I give them benignly bad advice, like they need to submit the T86 form to the bureau of allodial titles and good governance via their sheriff’s office and it has to have a wet ink signature and a fox stamp. I have no idea what I mean by any of this but they’re almost sold on fox stamp.

Reverendender ,

This is sinister

Tar_alcaran ,

That looks remarkably fragile for something so important. Isn’t your SSN also on your passport/drivers license?

IphtashuFitz ,

Not any more.

For the longest time my home state used SSNs as drivers license numbers. I think the federal government finally told them to stop, and years ago now we all got new randomly generated numbers on our licenses instead of SSNs.

weegee90 ,

He’s going off the grid! This guy doesn’t have a social security number for Roy!

Thcdenton ,

OOF

Diddlydee ,

I dislike anyone who uses ion like that.

ivanafterall ,
@ivanafterall@lemmy.world avatar

ion care

SkybreakerEngineer ,

What a charged comment

ivanafterall ,
@ivanafterall@lemmy.world avatar

I’m not being negative!

c0smokram3r ,
@c0smokram3r@midwest.social avatar

Are you positive?

SkaveRat ,

You need to unionize

samus12345 ,
@samus12345@lemmy.world avatar

That’s an actual thing? I thought it was just a typo.

Willie ,

If he was fully committed to the bit, he wouldn’t have hidden his SSN from this picture.

Macaroni_ninja ,
@Macaroni_ninja@lemmy.world avatar

Did he…just disappear??? 😐🫥

LiveLM ,

https://lemmy.zip/pictrs/image/5157be94-c296-4827-ac96-a5ba69180378.gif

Laser , (edited )

gif of Nileseyy Niles Disappearing

KeenFlame ,

Can someone explain what this is? Do Americans have documents proving you exist?

jbk ,

Looks like that piece of paper containing an American’s social security number

SynopsisTantilize ,

Yea we do. Social security number card. You use those, a birth certificate, drivers license, and two pieces of reputable mail (for proof of existence and address) to do most big ticket purchases or verify yourself before cars, houses, clearances, update drivers license. Etc…etc…

setsneedtofeed , (edited )
@setsneedtofeed@lemmy.world avatar

It’s a soggy piece of cardboard that “they” give you at birth and you have to hold onto it with your tiny baby hand, and then you have to keep it until you’re like 90 years old. If this soggy, easy to lose or destroy card gets lost or destroyed you have to prove to the magically animated statue of Abraham Lincoln himself that you’re American to get a replacement.

This card is explicitly not an ID card, but the only thing it ever gets used for is as an ID card.

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