Researchers Guess Social Security Numbers From Public Data

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By Eliza Strickland
Jul 7, 2009 7:42 PMNov 5, 2019 5:29 AM
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Were you born after 1988 in a small state? If so, researchers would have a particularly good chance of figuring out your Social Security number. In a new study, researchers used publicly available data, including an individual's place and date of birth, to guess the Social Security number that would have been assigned to that person. And the study's authors say that cyber-crooks could use similar techniques for identity theft.

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