The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "social security number" ...
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Grave Mistakes
Most people have never heard of the Social Security Administration's so-called "Death Master File"- a database of deceased Americans created in 1980 under the Freedom of Information Act as an anti-fraud tool. But each year, many Americans discover that they are listed as deceased by the federal government. Identity thieves have learned to use the Death Master File to commit hundreds of thousands of acts of identity theft for tax fraud, including taking Social Security numbers of recently deceased children.
Tags: Social Security; Fraud; Death Master File; deceased Americans
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Senior Insecurity
One of the most expensive health and human services program in California was designed to help the elderly and disabled afford basic necessities. The program, which costs “almost three billion dollars”, is covered by taxpayers. But when you look on the streets, you will see a number of elderly people living there because they aren’t able to pay for food and shelter. The issue that arises is how the money is being spent and whether the program is working or not.
Tags: Supplemental Security Income (SSI); state budget cuts; money; income; federal government; Department of Social Services
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Early on the Case: Identity Theft
A person's identity is stolen in the United States every three seconds. The investigation examined the underground world of identity theft and the online chat rooms where scammers buy and sell social security numbers, credit card information, bank account numbers and more. The series also investigated medical identity theft.
Tags: identity theft; scam; credit card; social security number; medical identity theft; chat room
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Ghost Drivers
"For years, Indiana has suffered the embarrassment and dubious distinction as a "fraud Friendly" state when it comes to obtaining bogus licenses and identification cards. A new administration vowed to put a stop to it. But 13 investigates discovered the state's top agencies for prosecuting fraud weren't following through on the legal end. Investigative Reporter Sandra Chapman began tracking the case of an accused Bureau of Motor Vehicles worker accused of fraud. What she found instead was a system allowing known illegal drivers using social security numbers from decreased residents to operate free and clear of Indiana law."
Tags: identification cards; identity fraud; fake credentials; drivers licenses; driving records
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Privacy Offenders
"The U.S. Census Bureau's local facility left piles of confidential records unguarded, sitting in a large, unfinished and unlocked room- for months."
Tags: privacy; federal government; personal files; social security numbers; identity theft; hidden camera
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The Dr. Files
KTUL was able to buy 6,971 medical files at an auction after a doctor retired, for just $5. The records included social security numbers, addresses and medical information.
Tags: health care; privacy; records; medical records; patient information; social security numbers; identity
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To Catch an ID Thief
NBC worked with specialized investigators to penetrate an Internet underground "where criminals brazenly buy and sell credit cards, bank accounts, passwords, PIN codes and social security numbers." Their investigation tracked packages bought with stolen identities to a theft ring in Europe.
Tags: identity theft; Hansen Electronics; illegal charges; theft ring; Dateline
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Dying For a Job
While workplace insurance boards across Canada claimed workplaces are safer, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation investigated workplace safety. They found that "the number of workplace deaths had increased by about 7 percent from 1993 to 2004." In addition, coroners' suggestions on making workplaces safer for workers have largely been ignored, and are "not shared from jurisdiction to jurisdiction in a manner that would help make their workplaces safer." The investigation also found that health care and social services workers were in more danger than others, "anywhere from six to 12 times more likely to file claims related to violence on the job, mainly from patients." This is higher than even the rate for police and security.
Tags: Worker's compensation; workplace safety; worker safety; labor laws; on-the-job injuries; Canadian workplaces
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Hiding in Plain Sight: Illegal Immigration in the Carolinas
With the help of the Charlotte Observer, WCNC-TV investigates the effect of illegal immigration on the Carolinas. Reporting in Mexico is part of the study as they find: that a government database designed to help employers verify social security numbers encourages illegal workers to steal numbers, stores sell "international drivers licenses" that are worthless, a congressional candidate who took his opponent to task regarding illegal immigrants has actually benefited from illegal workers, and Spanish speaking "notarios" give legal advice they are not licensed to give, getting the immigrants in more trouble.
Tags: Illegal immigrants; undocumented workers; immigration as a political issue; social security numbers; illegal legal advice
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Archdiocese Hires Criminal
The personnel director for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati knowingly hired a criminal to run a new program designed to protect children. His job was to conduct the fingerprint and background checks now required of all volunteers who coach or help out in Catholic schools. The investigation uncovered the personnel director was a close personal friend of the criminal for more than 20 years and that the troubled young man claimed the personnel director had sexually abused him as a child. He claimed he continued his sexual relationship with the personnel director in exchange for jobs, money and clothes. The criminal had access to the social security numbers of thousands of Catholic volunteers. It was shown how he continued to commit crimes while employed by the Archdiocese, and how the personnel director continued to cover for him, even bailing him out of jail.
Tags: archdiocese; Cincinnati; criminal; social security; sexual abuse; crime; volunteer; hiring; back ground checks