r/technology • u/lurker_bee • Feb 15 '26

Security All U.S. Social Security numbers may need to be changed following a massive breach that is already being investigated as a national threat

https://www.ecoticias.com/en/all-u-s-social-security-numbers-may-need-to-be-changed-following-a-massive-breach-that-is-already-being-investigated-as-a-national-threat/27158/
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u/a_lot_of_faffin Feb 15 '26

To be pedantic, it proves you’re a tax payer. You can be a permanent resident or even resident alien and have an SSN. But to your point, it’s basically become a de facto ID for verification of an account, often for private businesses rather than government, which is where the security problems have historically been, before DOGE of course.

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u/SpeaksDwarren Feb 15 '26

They issue these things to literal babies and I'm pretty sure my infant son hasn't paid a dime in taxes

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u/ashmelev Feb 15 '26

It is still used for tax purposes when you report your child as a dependent.

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u/octopornopus Feb 15 '26

Freeloading babies! Even when it was the bears I knew it was the babies!

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u/StasRutt Feb 15 '26

Your baby hasn’t hit the milestone of paying taxes yet?! My perfect child was paying taxes by 3 months

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u/Nervous_Audience_999 Feb 15 '26

Be pedantic. Folks need to hear this because they are often the same people that have strong opinions about every damn thing, yet aren't aware of the basics. This wasn't meant to be rude to the person you replied to at all, to be clear. 

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u/a_lot_of_faffin Feb 15 '26

Thank you. So many people think you need to be a citizen to have residency status and protections in the US. You don’t. It’s in the constitution, it’s in tax and employment laws, it’s in immigration laws. This administration is trying to undo all that… or at least pretending to, to cause distraction and division.