Treasury Department Removes Social Security Number from Address Window of Government Checks
September 12, 2000

Washington, DC – In the effort to protect Americans from the growing problem of identity theft, the U.S. Department of Treasury has removed Social Security numbers from the address windows of 90 percent of the 270 million Social Security and Supplemental Security Income check envelopes sent out each year.

"With a name and a Social Security number, criminals can take over a victim’s identity and use it to commit thousands of dollars worth of fraud or other serious crimes,” Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said. “The government should not make it easy for criminals to obtain this information.”

“Through this action, the Treasury Department is taking an important step towards eliminating the risk posed by displaying a Social Security number on government checks.”

In July, Senator Feinstein wrote a letter to Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers, highlighting the risk that such visibility poses and asking for a review the department’s policy of placing the social security number in the address window.

The Treasury Department hopes to remove the Social Security number from the address windows of all government checks by the summer of 2001.

Senator Feinstein has introduced two bills in the Senate to protect consumers from identity theft. The Social Security Number Protection Act directs the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prohibit the sale and purchase of Social Security numbers, and the Identity Theft Protection Act proposes measures to cut-down criminals’ access to personal information and to assist victims.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, there are 350,000 to 500,000 instances of identity theft each year.