A recent study by ID Analytics, Inc. found that millions of Americans have more than one Social Security number, and millions of Social Security numbers have multiple users.
Out of the 280 million Social Security numbers the firm studied across its network of databases,
• More than 20 million people have more than one number associated with their name.
• More than 40 million numbers are associated with more than one person.
• More than 100,000 Americans have 5 or more numbers associated with their name.
• More than 27,000 Social Security numbers are associated with 10 or more people.
Some errors are due to bad memories or data input while others are a result of illegal immigration and other forms of identity fraud.
How are Social Security Numbers assigned?
The first three digits are determined by where you lived when you applied for the number (Not where you were born); 569-599 for example are issued to residents of Puerto Rico. The further west you lived when you applied the higher the number. There are no Social Security numbers in the 900-999 beginning series.
The middle two digits tell when the card was issued (not when one was born) there are no numbers with middle digits 00.
Lastly, the final four digits are assigned in numerical order.
Check out your number with this decoder.
