One big cause of identity theft

It's illegal aliens; something many intelligent people have suspected but you wouldn't hear muttered by the MSM. What made AP suddenly let the cat out of the bag? Below is an article about a man whose SS# is being used by 81 different people. I would suspect some of those used it for more than employment purposes.

I found this story on the website for the Bradenton Herald. A newspaper in a small city with a population of about 50,000 on Florida's west coast. I don't check this paper very often for news. Even today, this article was not on the site's front page but the second page. In other words- If the MSM reports this, they bury it.

The Bradenton Herald was a Knight-Ridder paper.

Open Post- Basil's Blog, Right Wing Nation, Big Dog,

DUBLIN, Calif. - Audra Schmierer's Social Security number really gets around. It has been used by at least 81 people in 17 states, most of them probably illegal immigrants trying to get work.

The federal government took years to discover the number was being used illegally, but authorities took little action even then.

"They knew what was happening but wouldn't do anything," said Schmierer, 33, a housewife in this affluent San Francisco suburb. "One name, one number, why can't they just match it up?"

Her case is an example of an increasingly common problem: Many thieves are able to steal personal information because employers do not have to verify Social Security numbers or other documents submitted by job seekers.

The situation has long drawn fire from anti-illegal immigration groups, but Congress has only recently moved to fix it. Both the House and Senate have passed immigration-reform bills that call for employers to verify Social Security numbers in a national database.

Homeland Security officials have taken it a step further, calling on Congress to allow the Social Security Administration to share information with immigration-enforcement agents at work sites.

The information on mismatched names is seldom shared with law enforcement agencies.

Schmierer realized she had a problem in February 2005, when she got a statement from the IRS saying she owed $15,813 in back taxes - even though she had not worked since her son was born in 2000.

Perhaps even more surprising, the taxes were due from jobs in Texas.

Schmierer called the IRS and learned that numerous people were using her Social Security number. Officials said the erroneous balances would be eliminated, but the agency would have to correct the problem again in future years.

Cross Posted to Bullwinkle Blog