I recall sometime back that I learned that Social Security numbers are re-used. Since nine digits would give you 999 million+ people, I was surprised. However three of the numbers indicate where (state/place) the number was issued so it is not a unique number. I think there have been some "weird news" over the years of people with the same number (one dead, one living) long before the identity theft craze. I agree with Paul's comment completely, that the financial organizations issuing credit cards right and left are the main causes in that they do not place enough checks to insure that someone is exactly whom they are. Dean Dean DeBolt University Librarian, Special Collections John C. Pace Library, University of West Florida 11000 University Parkway Pensacola, FL 32514-5750 850-474-2213 [log in to unmask] A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List sponsored by the Society of American Archivists, www.archivists.org. For the terms of participation, please refer to http://www.archivists.org/listservs/arch_listserv_terms.asp. To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname *or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES To post a message, send e-mail to [log in to unmask] Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>