Study: Roughly 1 in 15 adults lie about SSNs, DOBs on credit applications

[sinkingfeeling]

http://redtape.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/06/29/6971606-study-roughly-1-in-15-adults-lie-about-ssns-dobs-on-credit-applications-

Roughly 1 in 15 U.S. adults are intentionally committing fraud by lying about their Social Security number, date of birth, or other personal information on credit applications, claims a study released today by consulting firm ID Analytics.

Eight million people are using two or more Social Security numbers, 16 million have used multiple dates of birth, and another 10 million have intentionally co-mingled their personal information with a spouse's information, the report says.

In all, 45 million Americans entered incorrect information on applications for cell phone service, auto loans, credit cards, or other similar transaction, ID Analytics says. While some of those mistakes could be the result of applicants simply being inconsistent with their names, roughly one-third to one-half of those involve deliberate attempts to escape a bad credit history or otherwise evade detection of a negative event in their past, said Stephen Coggeshall, chief technology officer for ID Analytics.

With 267 million adults studied, roughly 8 percent are actively committing fraud. He estimated.
"Deliberate identity manipulation is far more prevalent than we imagined," he said. "I think there are broader social statements implications associated with this." Some elements of society may not see lying about a name or a number on a credit application as a crime, or as morally wrong, he said.

"People are harmed in two ways by this. A fraudster can inadvertently use your information to obtain credit. But the second way is, overall people have to pay more through increased fees and costs for services when fraudsters are successful," Coggeshall said.

[provis99]

1. Americans, or illegal aliens?

My guess is its the latter doing it.

[sinkingfeeling]

2. Really? Why? There aren't 45 million 'illegal aliens' in the USA.

[provis99]

4. every illegal alien, by definition, must have a fake, not real SSN.

[Maru Kitteh]

7. Poppycock. My deadbeat ex managed to live w/o using his SS# number for years

in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to avoid his obligations to his child. Dropped out of the system altogether. Closed his bank accounts & worked for cash only.

[REP]

5. When I worked for the Phone Co, it was Americans

It was people with bad debts, using either their children's SSNs or fictious ones. Not every SSN was checked, but things like repeated requests for service at the same address, request for service at an address with a huge unpaid bill or a flag on the account and other indicators would prompt the SSN being checked. Either the numbers were good but had an unpaid bill; good but issued to a child with the surname of the bad debt holder at that address (can't issue credit to children) or just didn't exist. While anyone can be in the country illegally, in the hundreds of frauds I handled, I don't recall a single 'obvious' illegal alien (accent + name of ANY origin + bogus ID - and I spoke with legitimate account holders from all over the world: Central and South America, Lithuania, Wales, Japan, China, UAE, Canada, etc)

[Shagbark Hickory]

3. Something needs to be done to protect us from the identity theft epidemic. SSNs need to go...

as an identifier for a lot of things.Something else needs to be done.

A lot of times now, when you call customer service, like with comcast or dishnetwork, they'll ask you to verify your account with your ssn. I don't know how they get it or if they even really have it but I always give them a wrong number. It's none of their bizniz.

Credit apps are one thing but student id's, account logins, etc etc. shouldn't be ssn.

[iemitsu]

6. i wonder if the same people who provide false information

on credit applications also apply for credit more often than honest applicants? thus skewing the statistics.