In the wake of a recent high-profile data breach, a columnist for The Wall Street Journal writes that stolen Social Security numbers pose a greater and longer-lasting threat to breach victims. Stolen credit card numbers can be changed quickly, but identity thieves can hold on to Social Security numbers for extended periods of time and use them to create debts, medical expenses or criminal records. Identity Theft 911 Co-founder Adam Levin says that "identities are currency; they're evergreen." Identity thieves can "re-create you," Levin says and in some cases even reach out to victims posing as the breached organization in order to mine for additional personal information. (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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