Mass ID theft

The secret list of ID theft victims is an MSNBC.com special report that delivers some stunning revelations:

MSNBC.com research and government reports suggest hundreds of thousands of American citizens are ... unknowingly lending their identity to illegal immigrants so they can work. And while several government agencies and private corporations sometimes know whose Social Security numbers are being ripped off, they won't notify the victims. That is, until they come after the victims for back taxes or unpaid loans owed by the imposter. ...

During 2002, the year with the most recent figures available, 9 million people paid taxes with mismatched names and Social Security Numbers. Some were women who had failed to notify the agency that their name changed after marriage. Some were the result of typographical errors.

But most -- between 50 and 80 percent depending on whom you talk to -- represent illegal immigrants using a stolen or manufactured Social Security number at the workplace. ...

The IRS also receives payments from mismatched names and numbers, and has access to the same no-match list created by Social Security. But according to IRS spokesman Anthony Burke, the agency doesn't check for number-name mismatches until it processes tax returns.  And it does not have a mechanism for informing the rightful Social Security number holder that someone else has filed a return using that number. ...

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. ...

Telling the number's rightful holder that someone else is using it might create more panic then necessary, some Social Security investigators said -- and there's not a lot of good advice the agency could offer, anyway. There's little a victim could do at that point. Uncovering just who is the rightful owner of the Social Security number -- and who is the imposter -- could also pose a challenge. So would finding correct contact information for victims.