Whether you are producing or receiving account statements, what kind of "sensitive consumer information" is on the statements? Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and account numbers should not be printed, and account numbers should be truncated.

If you operate a business that prints SSNs on customer account statements, you are putting your customers at unnecessary risk of identity theft and fraud. Opportunities for unauthorized people to gain access to that sensitive information for fraudulent purposes include:

Office workers access the SSNs and birth dates although access to that sensitive information is not part of their job responsibility. This raises several questions. How are your securing and limiting access to sensitive information in the workplace, and are your background screening your employees appropriately? For example, a local organization hired a case manager. Previous to employment, the person was accused of identity theft and plead guilty to a lesser charge. The organization requires that patrons present their SSN Card to case managers for verification and recording.

Mail theft is not an uncommon technique for low-tech, local thieves to use to obtain personal identifiers that are used to commit identity theft. This applies to incoming and outgoing mail. It is common for local drug rings and drug users, especially methamphetamine distributors and addicts to use this technique. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service makes many arrests each year related to mail theft.

Consumers, without thinking, dispose intact account statements. Documents can be blown out of the trash by wind, picked by "dumpster divers" and "lifted" from the trash during any stage of the disposal and recycling process. In one situation, a document disposed in the Midwest was picked out of recycled materials at an East Coast recycling facility and used for identity theft.

Social Security Numbers are not necessary other than when an initial credit check is required. Once that is completed, it is best that the sensitive information (consumer report) is appropriately destroyed. If retaining such consumer information is required under law, then it must be appropriately safeguarded. There is no need to print SSNs on account statements, and the SSN should never be used as an account number.

Many financial institutions and some creditors are also truncating account numbers on printed statements,. This practice should be adopted by all public, private and volunteer entities that mail account statements.

If you are the consumer and you are receiving account statements with SSNs printed on them, request the business to stop printing your SSNs on account statements.

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