Carol,
Check out the statement of the FTC at this web address:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/2000/05identitytheft.htm
If I have typed in the url incorrectly, it is available from the FTC site.
There was a hearing in March 2000 to which this statement was submitted.
The FTC has lots of info available on the subject, and hopefully you will
find something that will help answer your more narrow question.
Good luck,
Janine

At 07:05 PM 11/13/00 -0600, ou wrote:
>Can someone point me to some good articles linking "identity theft" to
>easy
>access to social security numbers? Are there articles or cases
>related to
>university liability related to student information or ID numbers? At
>my
>university, our social security numbers are used as ID numbers (and a
>portion of the e-mail address) for faculty, staff and students -- a
>practice
>I would like to see changed. The university president has asked me to
>write
>him a memo on this subject -- so any ASAP information would be
>appreciated.
>Thanks.
>
>[After two months of not being able to respond to anything on ALSB TALK
>-- I
>guess I am trying to make up for lost opportunity -- now that the
>computer
>mislink has been corrected.]
>
>Carol Miller
>SMSU
>