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The Top Ten Most Dangerous Places to Give Out Your Social Security Number

A few weeks ago Internet security outfit McAfee analyzed data published by several sources, and put together a list of the ten most dangerous places for you to give out your social security number. By which we mean, the top 10 places that legitimately ask for your social security number, and to which you would be inclined to provide your SSN. These include banks, hospitals, and your own local government.

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Researchers Use Facebook and Other Social Network Data to Hack Social Security Numbers

As online society becomes ever more social, and cares ever less about personal security, the phrase “social security” seems more than ever an oxymoron. Perhaps nowhere is this more clearly brought home than in this week’s announcement by researchers at Carnegie Mellon that they have cracked the social security code, and were able to predict with frightening accuracy many social sercurity numbers (SSN). In many cases, their hack was aided by information gleaned from such social networking sites as Facebook.