I just saw this today even though the original article was posted Monday. I am really surprised that I couldn't find any current threads on this topic. These articles describe the consequences of the identity theft perpetrated by people using someone else's social security number to get a job - and the numbers are pretty scary.
And here's the thing - under the current laws and behaviors of federal agencies,
if it happens to you, you will never know until you are well and thoroughly screwed.http://redtape.msnbc.com/2006/03/hidden_cost_of_.html#postsHidden cost of illegal immigration: ID theft
Posted: Friday, March 31 at 06:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan
In the noisy immigration debate raging in Washington, there is one voice NOT being heard.
The voice of identity theft victims.
Behind many of the nation’s millions of undocumented workers are someone else's documents. To get a job, illegal immigrants need a Social Security number, and they often borrow one. As victim Melody Millet is fond of saying, U.S. citizens are being forced to share their identities with undocumented immigrants to give corporate America a steady supply of cheap labor.
Thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of Americans are right now sharing their identities with immigrants and don't know it. It is the dirty little secret of the immigration issue: By not dealing directly with the undocumented worker situation, the U.S government is actually encouraging identity theft. In fact, one can argue that the origins of the identity theft epidemic can be traced to the immigration issue.
The scope of this problem is vast. Every year, nearly 9 million people pay their taxes using the wrong Social Security number. The name used on W-2 tax forms used by employers doesn't match the name on file with the Social Security Administration. There can be many reasons why -- a data entry typo by a human resources department, a woman changes her name after marriage and forgets to report it, or a man uses someone else's SSN to get a job.
The secret list of ID theft victims
Consumers could be warned, but U.S government isn't talking
(snip)
But could Trevino, and all the other victims, be warned by the government? After all, several agencies and corporations found her when they wanted her money. Until then, not a single one had bothered to warn her that someone else was using her Social Security number.
Melody Millet's husband Steve was the victim of immigrant identity theft. None of the agencies involved are trying to tackle the problem because they all benefit from it, as does corporate America, she said. The IRS and Social Security collect extra taxes, lenders sell more loans and employers get inexpensive workers. Fixing the problem and telling all the victimized consumers would upset the delicate apple cart that is America's immigration policy, she said.
"The government is forcing people to share identities because they want to provide cheap labor to corporate America," Melody Millet said.
(snip)
Credit reports don't help
How can a consumer unravel the secret life of their Social Security number? In fact, since neither the government nor private industry is speaking out, there is no way. Asking the Social Security Administration or IRS won't help.
(snip)
In fact, consumer credit reports obtained from the credit bureaus expressly leave off this kind of fraud. If an imposter is using a consumer's Social Security number but his own name and address to open up fraudulent accounts, a consumer-disclosed credit report won't include that information. The rightful number holder will never know.
This is a pretty scary situation, folks. You do NOT want your credit ruined by identity theft. And what ticks me off is it tells me the tools have been there to go after these
illegal employers for a long time - there just hasn't been any will.
Please contact your Senators and Representatives to pressure them to address this issue in
whatever immigration bill they end up passing - and they'd better not remove it in conference committee.
~~~
Edited to correct the title from "illegal immigration" to "illegal employers".
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