[vaadu]

"An investigation into the incident found the stolen information ranged from names, phone numbers, addresses and dates of birth to the last four digits of Social Security numbers and tax IDs."

Why should any company have your SSN or tax ID unless explicitly required by law? A credit check is one thing, but afterward they must delete the entire SSN and the credit report — as if they never possessed it.

Businesses required to keep it for tax/financial reporting (e.g., banks) should be banned from using it for any verification or identification purposes.