While all millennials and the generations after are well-acquainted with having a Social Security number tied to their identity, things weren’t always like that back in the 80s. In fact, plenty of older folks didn’t have an SSN until they were of age to attend school, like one 50-year-old woman from Nevada. The main issue for her, however, is that she has a sister with an SSN that’s very similar to hers when it was issued. And now, this woman claims her sister has been using her identity to get away with crime and has the police prosecute her instead.
Posting her situation to r/legaladvice, the Nevada woman explains that she has no criminal history besides one DUI from her early twenties. “My sister, on the other hand, is a career criminal,” she explains. A “career criminal” is no exaggeration either. OP goes on to list how her sister has been arrested over 20 times in just the past decade. She goes on to explain how she believes her sister is using her identity to get her in trouble instead.
“My sister and I were issued our SSNs at the same time and they are one number apart. My sister has used this to her advantage during her life of crime,” the sibling details. Even though the two don’t look alike, the police have still put out a warrant for OP’s arrest multiple times. Needless to say, she’s pressing charges against her sister.
The Nevada Also Blames the Police for Mistaking Her for Her Sister
“However, I am also angry at the police for doing this to me twice,” she exclaims. Dealing with the legal fees and trouble at court is stressful enough, on top of the records of being arrested affecting her professional life. “I’m scared to drive because if someone hits me, the cops run my name and I go to jail,” she says worringly. That said, one of her questions to Reddit was whether the police would be at fault somehow for this very serious mix-up with the actual culprit and a family member.
“Cops rarely use social to identify someone. She’s giving the cops name and date of birth,” remarks a Redditor. One person suggested contacting Social Security to receive a new number, but another commenter added how that would negatively affect her credit score, which she’s built over the years. “It’s extremely difficult to actually receive a new number; and when/if the request is granted, the SSN’s are cross-referenced,” chimed in a third. Though, identity theft could be a serious enough issue for the government to give OP a new one.
For some younger people, this woman’s story might be hard to believe, particularly regarding her and her sister’s almost identical SSNs. However, the post’s comments say otherwise, with dozens of Reddit users sharing their own stories or of their older relatives experiencing the same issue. Fortunately, the younger generation doesn’t have to worry about this sort of identity theft since 1986 with the Tax Reform Act, requiring all children regardless of age to have an SSN.
