ID THEFT Social Security numbers posted online

The information is in public records, but the Internet makes it easier to obtain.
SCRIPPS HOWARD
It's another one of those annoying "unintended consequences of the information age" stories, but county clerks across the country are posting online details of your personal information that could provide identity thieves with the key to a treasure trove of your most private data.
The information includes your Social Security number, along with that of your spouse, if you have bought any property. The Social Security numbers of the sellers are included, too.
And in other cases, some court-approved divorce decrees state not only the numbers of credit cards held by both parties, but the name of their bank, their account numbers and the amount of money that's there. If you have had a tax lien against your property, your Social Security number is likely to be listed on the Internal Revenue Service documents posted there, too.
B.J. Ostergen, a Virginia activist, has fished out from the public records the Social Security numbers of dignitaries ranging from CIA Director Porter Goss to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in an effort to persuade politicians of the dangers of posting the information online.
She's also ferreted out the Social Security number for Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, which is mentioned on a 1980 tax lien the IRS filed against him. Local clerks dutifully filed the lien against DeLay's property with his local tax records because a lien is something that must be cleared up before the property can be sold.
Public records
In the past this information has been available for anyone willing to trek down to the courthouse and leaf through public land records or the proceedings of divorce courts. But thanks to the Internet age, public records are now put online to make it easier for anyone with a computer anywhere around the world to retrieve them.
"It's putting our country at great danger," said Ostergen, who has posted some of the Social Security numbers she's retrieved on her Web site at www.opcva.com/watchdog.
Ostergren got into the fight in 1992 when the Hanover County, Va., clerk notified her that her public records were posted online, with her signature, too.
She said she got so angry she began digging out Social Security numbers of others, some of whom were just as angry to learn their personal information was online.
The Social Security number of Jeb Bush was obliterated on a clerk's Web site after Ostergen publicized it, and she's gotten irate phone calls when she's appeared on radio programs to publicize the Social Security numbers of local big wigs.
Concern
Privacy advocates say Social Security numbers are a key to finding out detailed information on individuals, including their credit histories.
Banks and credit organizations rely on Social Security numbers both to identify people and maintain accounts on their financial activities.
The Property Records Industry Association, the North Carolina-based organization representing court clerks nationwide, said it is working on a national policy statement.
Mike Borden, a spokesman for the group, said there's no unified approach to dealing with personal information. Policies differ from county to county in each state.
Borden said the organization has never verified a case of identity theft from the online public information. Thieves seem to be content concentrating on large data brokers like ChoicePoint and LexisNexis Group, both of which have recently reported loss of data.