Have you heard about the interior design fail that revolutionized mail? That’s right, the humble bubble wrap was originally marketed as wallpaper. Its inventors had grand visions of amping up the ambiance of American homes by decking them out, floor-to-ceiling, in translucent sheets of glorious, air-filled pockets! To no one’s surprise, bubble wrap wallpaper went bust. But it was reborn as a wildly popular packing material, beloved for keeping valuables safe and for that wonderfully satisfying pop.
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What do bubble wrap and your Social Security Number have in common?
Your packaging materials weren’t designed for the mail — and your SSN wasn’t meant to be a top-secret code, either.
Of course, bubble wrap is not the only example of something that started off as one thing and evolved into something quite different, for better … or for worse.
For example, take the nine-digit confidential code burned into your brain: your Social Security Number. It came into being in 1935 simply as a way to track retirement benefits. Not everyone was careful about sharing Social Security Numbers back then, because they didn’t need to be.
But slowly, that mindset would change, as the SSN morphed into a national ID number, following a 1943 executive order that stated, “It is desirable in the interest of economy and orderly administration that the Federal Government move towards the use of a single, unduplicated numerical identification system of accounts and avoid the unnecessary establishment of additional systems.” In other words, instead of various agencies issuing different numbers, one number would be just fine.
The IRS adopted Social Security Numbers in 1962; Medicare and the Department of Defense followed suit in 1965 and 1969, respectively. Cut to today: Americans use their SSNs all the time to open bank accounts, to enroll in school, and to apply for healthcare and marriage licenses. Babies are issued SSNs at birth. It’s an identifier that follows you from cradle to grave, and a stolen Social Security Number can do real damage.
Fraudsters go hunting (or phishing) online for Social Security Numbers. SSNs are for sale on the dark web for as little as a dollar. In fact, a recent Capital One® survey concluded that almost 55 percent of respondents have been the victim of financial theft or fraud.
Advanced tools are available to help keep you vigilant and, hopefully, out of the “55% Club.”* Some require a subscription fee, but the CreditWise® from Capital One® app is free for everyone (no need to be a Capital One customer). A key feature of the app is the SSN tracker, which tracks the names and addresses associated with credit applications linked to your SSN. It’ll also notify you if your SSN or email address shows up on the dark web. If trouble is spotted, CreditWise offers tips about the best course of action, from freezing credit to updating passwords and monitoring statements.
Smart consumers know that when fraudsters have your number, responding immediately can make all the difference.
*Estimated based on a July 2018 representative survey that was conducted by Capital One online among 1,000 adults aged 21+. Respondents were balanced by census to be demographically representative of the population based on age, gender, ethnicity, education, and region.