I understand your premise, but knowing the "powers-that-be" in the administration of SS, changing government standards for the millions of members is next to impossible. It won't happen anytime in the near future and because the number will always exist, it will always be an easy way to identify those same members, and companies will continue to use it as such..
And besides, most fingerprint scanners aren't all that secure either.. iPhone scanners have already been hacked and for many other brands of scanners, merely printing a thumbprint on a piece of paper gets you through the security. Unfortunately, there is no silver bullet when it comes to security.
Hope this helps.
Grif
The social security number has been in use since 1935, or 80 years.
Initially it was clearly printed on every social security card issued that the number WAS NOT to be used for Identification Purposes.
However we all know that banks, other financial institutions, and most businesses have been ignoring this admonition.
Since the dynamic growth of the internet and online business transactions, the social security number has been the target of many hacks.
It is time to get rid of the social security number altogether.
There are very efficient biometric scanners that can be used to verify a person’s identity.
Banks and other businesses and institutions need to start registering the clients and/or customers thumb-prints and use
them to verify identities.
People who wish to place orders over the internet can purchase a thumb-print scanner very cheaply.
These scanners are in the 50.00 to 200.00 dollar price range.
Businesses that process credit and ATM debit cards can use the same scanners.
Using the thumb print is a fraud proof way of identity verification, since the users thumb MUST be scanned and matched with the
issuing institution’s database. Therefore even if the thumb-print database is hacked, it’s useless because the criminals have
NO ACCESS to the person’s thumb.
Obviously standards should be put in place to insure all thumb-print scanners adhere to the same verification
paradigm: e.g. blood-pressure and temperature sensors, to insure a live human thumb is being scanned.
All of the technology to verify identities through biometrics exist today, as Off-the-Shelf products.
The prices on such biometric devices will drop as their use becomes wide spread.