I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2104 

To amend title 18, United States Code, and the Social Security Act to 

limit the misuse of Social Security numbers, to establish criminal penalties for such misuse, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 22, 2013 

Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Ways 

and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, 

in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 18, United States Code, and the Social Security Act to limit the misuse of Social Security numbers, 

to establish criminal penalties for such misuse, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Protecting the Privacy of Social Security Numbers Act 

6 of 2013’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings. 

Sec. 3. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers. 

Sec. 4. Application of prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers to public records. 

Sec. 5. Rulemaking authority of the Attorney General. 

Sec. 6. Limits on personal disclosure of a Social Security number for consumer 

transactions. 

Sec. 7. Extension of civil monetary penalties for misuse of a Social Security 

number. 

Sec. 8. Criminal penalties for the misuse of a Social Security number. 

Sec. 9. Civil actions and civil penalties. 

Sec. 10. Federal injunctive authority. 

3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

4 The Congress makes the following findings: 

5 (1) The inappropriate display, sale, or purchase 

6 of Social Security numbers has contributed to a 

7 growing range of illegal activities, including fraud, 

8 identity theft, and, in some cases, stalking and other 

9 violent crimes. 

10 (2) While financial institutions, health care pro11 viders, and other entities have often used Social Se12 curity numbers to confirm the identity of an indi13 vidual, the general display to the public, sale, or pur14 chase of these numbers has been used to commit 

15 crimes, and also can result in serious invasions of in16 dividual privacy. 

17 (3) The Federal Government requires virtually 

18 every individual in the United States to obtain and 

19 maintain a Social Security number in order to pay 


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1 taxes, to qualify for Social Security benefits, or to 

2 seek employment. An unintended consequence of 

3 these requirements is that Social Security numbers 

4 have become one of the tools that can be used to fa5 cilitate crime, fraud, and invasions of the privacy of 

6 the individuals to whom the numbers are assigned. 

7 Because the Federal Government created and main8 tains this system, and because the Federal Govern9 ment does not permit individuals to exempt them10 selves from those requirements, it is appropriate for 

11 the Federal Government to take steps to stem the 

12 abuse of Social Security numbers. 

13 (4) The display, sale, or purchase of Social Se14 curity numbers in no way facilitates uninhibited, ro15 bust, and wide-open public debate, and restrictions 

16 on such display, sale, or purchase would not affect 

17 public debate. 

18 (5) No one should seek to profit from the dis19 play, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers in 

20 circumstances that create a substantial risk of phys21 ical, emotional, or financial harm to the individuals 

22 to whom those numbers are assigned. 

23 (6) Consequently, this Act provides each indi24 vidual that has been assigned a Social Security num25 ber some degree of protection from the display, sale, 


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1 and purchase of that number in any circumstance 

2 that might facilitate unlawful conduct. 

3 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, SALE, OR PUR4 CHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS. 

5 (a) PROHIBITION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, 

7 United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

8 section 1028A the following: 

9 ‘‘§ 1028B. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase 

10 of Social Security numbers 

11 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) DISPLAY.—The term ‘display’ means to in13 tentionally communicate or otherwise make available 

14 (on the Internet or in any other manner) to the gen15 eral public an individual’s Social Security number. 

16 ‘‘(2) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any 

17 individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, co18 operative, association, or any other entity. 

19 ‘‘(3) PURCHASE.—The term ‘purchase’ means 

20 providing directly or indirectly, anything of value in 

21 exchange for a Social Security number. 

22 ‘‘(4) SALE.—The term ‘sale’ means obtaining, 

23 directly or indirectly, anything of value in exchange 

24 for a Social Security number. 


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1 ‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 

2 State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 

3 Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the 

4 United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American 

5 Samoa, and any territory or possession of the 

6 United States. 

7 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON DISPLAY.—Except as provided 

8 in section 1028C, no person may display any individual’s 

9 Social Security number to the general public without the 

10 affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 

11 ‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON SALE OR PURCHASE.—Except 

12 as otherwise provided in this section, no person may sell 

13 or purchase any individual’s Social Security number with14 out the affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 

15 ‘‘(d) PREREQUISITES FOR CONSENT.—In order for 

16 consent to exist under subsection (b) or (c), the person 

17 displaying or seeking to display, selling or attempting to 

18 sell, or purchasing or attempting to purchase, an individ19 ual’s Social Security number shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) inform the individual of the general pur21 pose for which the number will be used, the types of 

22 persons to whom the number may be available, and 

23 the scope of transactions permitted by the consent; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(2) obtain the affirmatively expressed consent 

2 (electronically or in writing) of the individual. 

3 ‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be 

4 construed to prohibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase 

5 of a Social Security number— 

6 ‘‘(1) required, authorized, or excepted under 

7 any Federal law; 

8 ‘‘(2) for a public health purpose, including the 

9 protection of the health or safety of an individual in 

10 an emergency situation; 

11 ‘‘(3) for a national security purpose; 

12 ‘‘(4) for a law enforcement purpose, including 

13 the investigation of fraud and the enforcement of a 

14 child support obligation; 

15 ‘‘(5) if the display, sale, or purchase of the 

16 number is for a use occurring as a result of an inter17 action between businesses, governments, or business 

18 and government (regardless of which entity initiates 

19 the interaction), including, but not limited to— 

20 ‘‘(A) the prevention of fraud (including 

21 fraud in protecting an employee’s right to em22 ployment benefits); 

23 ‘‘(B) the facilitation of credit checks or the 

24 facilitation of background checks of employees, 

25 prospective employees, or volunteers; 


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1 ‘‘(C) the retrieval of other information 

2 from other businesses, commercial enterprises, 

3 government entities, or private nonprofit orga4 nizations; or 

5 ‘‘(D) when the transmission of the number 

6 is incidental to, and in the course of, the sale, 

7 lease, franchising, or merger of all, or a portion 

8 of, a business; 

9 ‘‘(6) if the transfer of such a number is part of 

10 a data matching program involving a Federal, State, 

11 or local agency; or 

12 ‘‘(7) if such number is required to be submitted 

13 as part of the process for applying for any type of 

14 Federal, State, or local government benefit or pro15 gram; 

16 except that, nothing in this subsection shall be construed 

17 as permitting a professional or commercial user to display 

18 or sell a Social Security number to the general public. 

19 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall pro20 hibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase of Social Secu21 rity numbers as permitted under title V of the Gramm22 Leach-Bliley Act, or for the purpose of affiliate sharing 

23 as permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, except 

24 that no entity regulated under such Acts may make Social 

25 Security numbers available to the general public, as may 


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1 be determined by the appropriate regulators under such 

2 Acts. For purposes of this subsection, the general public 

3 shall not include affiliates or unaffiliated third-party busi4 ness entities as may be defined by the appropriate regu5 lators.’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

7 analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 

8 Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 

9 to section 1028A the following: 

‘‘1028B. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of Social Security numbers.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days 

12 after the date on which the final regulations promulgated 

13 under section 5 are published in the Federal Register. 

14 SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, 

15 SALE, OR PURCHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY 

16 NUMBERS TO PUBLIC RECORDS. 

17 (a) PUBLIC RECORDS EXCEPTION.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, 

19 United States Code (as amended by section 3(a)(1)), 

20 is amended by inserting after section 1028B the fol21 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘§ 1028C. Display, sale, or purchase of public records 

2 containing Social Security numbers 

3 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘public 

4 record’ means any governmental record that is made avail5 able to the general public. 

6 ‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub7 sections (c), (d), and (e), section 1028B shall not apply 

8 to a public record. 

9 ‘‘(c) PUBLIC RECORDS ON THE INTERNET OR IN AN

10 ELECTRONIC MEDIUM.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1028B shall apply 

12 to any public record first posted onto the Internet 

13 or provided in an electronic medium by, or on behalf 

14 of, a government entity after the date of the enact15 ment of this section, except as limited by the Attor16 ney General in accordance with paragraph (2). 

17 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES

18 ALREADY PLACING PUBLIC RECORDS ON THE INTER19 NET OR IN ELECTRONIC FORM.—Not later than 60 

20 days after the date of the enactment of this section, 

21 the Attorney General shall issue regulations regard22 ing the applicability of section 1028B to any record 

23 of a category of public records first posted onto the 

24 Internet or provided in an electronic medium by, or 

25 on behalf of, a government entity prior to the date 

26 of the enactment of this section. The regulations will 


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1 determine which individual records within categories 

2 of records of these government entities, if any, may 

3 continue to be posted on the Internet or in electronic 

4 form after the effective date of this section. In pro5 mulgating these regulations, the Attorney General 

6 may include in the regulations a set of procedures 

7 for implementing the regulations and shall consider 

8 the following: 

9 ‘‘(A) The cost and availability of tech10 nology available to a governmental entity to re11 dact Social Security numbers from public 

12 records first provided in electronic form after 

13 the effective date of this section. 

14 ‘‘(B) The cost or burden to the general 

15 public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non16 profit organizations, and to Federal, State, and 

17 local governments of complying with section 

18 1028B with respect to such records. 

19 ‘‘(C) The benefit to the general public, 

20 businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit 

21 organizations, and to Federal, State, and local 

22 governments if the Attorney General were to 

23 determine that section 1028B should apply to 

24 such records. 


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1 Nothing in the regulation shall permit a public enti2 ty to post a category of public records on the Inter3 net or in electronic form after the effective date of 

4 this section if such category had not been placed on 

5 the Internet or in electronic form prior to such effec6 tive date. 

7 ‘‘(d) HARVESTED SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.— 

8 Section 1028B shall apply to any public record of a gov9 ernment entity which contains Social Security numbers ex10 tracted from other public records for the purpose of dis11 playing or selling such numbers to the general public. 

12 ‘‘(e) ATTORNEY GENERAL RULEMAKING ON PAPER

13 RECORDS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of this section, the 

16 Attorney General shall determine the feasibility and 

17 advisability of applying section 1028B to the records 

18 listed in paragraph (2) when they appear on paper 

19 or on another nonelectronic medium. If the Attorney 

20 General deems it appropriate, the Attorney General 

21 may issue regulations applying section 1028B to 

22 such records. 

23 ‘‘(2) LIST OF PAPER AND OTHER NONELEC24 TRONIC RECORDS.—The records listed in this para25 graph are as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) Professional or occupational licenses. 

2 ‘‘(B) Marriage licenses. 

3 ‘‘(C) Birth certificates. 

4 ‘‘(D) Death certificates. 

5 ‘‘(E) Other short public documents that 

6 display a Social Security number in a routine 

7 and consistent manner on the face of the docu8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL RE10 VIEW.—In determining whether section 1028B 

11 should apply to the records listed in paragraph (2), 

12 the Attorney General shall consider the following: 

13 ‘‘(A) The cost or burden to the general 

14 public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non15 profit organizations, and to Federal, State, and 

16 local governments of complying with section 

17 1028B. 

18 ‘‘(B) The benefit to the general public, 

19 businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit 

20 organizations, and to Federal, State, and local 

21 governments if the Attorney General were to 

22 determine that section 1028B should apply to 

23 such records.’’. 

24 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The chapter 

25 analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 


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1 Code (as amended by section 3(a)(2)), is amended 

2 by inserting after the item relating to section 1028B 

3 the following: 

‘‘1028C. Display, sale, or purchase of public records containing Social Security 

numbers.’’. 

4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibition with respect 

5 to electronic versions of new classes of public records 

6 under section 1028C(b) of title 18, United States Code 

7 (as added by subsection (a)(1)) shall not take effect until 

8 the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment 

9 of this Act. 

10 SEC. 5. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY GEN11 ERAL. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 

13 (b), the Attorney General may prescribe such rules and 

14 regulations as the Attorney General deems necessary to 

15 carry out the provisions of section 1028B(e)(5) of title 18, 

16 United States Code (as added by section 3(a)(1)). 

17 (b) DISPLAY, SALE, OR PURCHASE RULEMAKING

18 WITH RESPECT TO INTERACTIONS BETWEEN BUSI19 NESSES, GOVERNMENTS, OR BUSINESS AND GOVERN20 MENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Attorney 

23 General, in consultation with the Commissioner of 

24 Social Security, the Chairman of the Federal Trade 


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1 Commission, and such other heads of Federal agen2 cies as the Attorney General determines appropriate, 

3 shall conduct such rulemaking procedures in accord4 ance with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, 

5 United States Code, as are necessary to promulgate 

6 regulations to implement and clarify the uses occur7 ring as a result of an interaction between businesses, 

8 governments, or business and government (regard9 less of which entity initiates the interaction) per10 mitted under section 1028B(e)(5) of title 18, United 

11 States Code (as added by section 3(a)(1)). 

12 (2) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In promul13 gating the regulations required under paragraph (1), 

14 the Attorney General shall, at a minimum, consider 

15 the following: 

16 (A) The benefit to a particular business, to 

17 customers of the business, and to the general 

18 public of the display, sale, or purchase of an in19 dividual’s Social Security number. 

20 (B) The costs that businesses, customers 

21 of businesses, and the general public may incur 

22 as a result of prohibitions on the display, sale, 

23 or purchase of Social Security numbers. 

24 (C) The risk that a particular business 

25 practice will promote the use of a Social SecuVerDate Mar 15 2010 02:00 May 25, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2104.IH H2104

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1 rity number to commit fraud, deception, or 

2 crime. 

3 (D) The presence of adequate safeguards, 

4 procedures, and technologies to prevent— 

5 (i) misuse of Social Security numbers 

6 by employees within a business; and 

7 (ii) misappropriation of Social Secu8 rity numbers by the general public, while 

9 permitting internal business uses of such 

10 numbers. 

11 (E) The presence of procedures to prevent 

12 identity thieves, stalkers, and other individuals 

13 with ill intent from posing as legitimate busi14 nesses to obtain Social Security numbers. 

15 (F) The impact of such uses on privacy. 

16 SEC. 6. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SOCIAL 

17 SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER TRANS18 ACTIONS. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title XI of the Social 

20 Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by add21 ing at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 1150C. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SO2 CIAL SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER 

3 TRANSACTIONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A commercial entity may not re5 quire an individual to provide the individual’s Social Secu6 rity number when purchasing a commercial good or service 

7 or deny an individual the good or service for refusing to 

8 provide that number except— 

9 ‘‘(1) for any purpose relating to— 

10 ‘‘(A) obtaining a consumer report for any 

11 purpose permitted under the Fair Credit Re12 porting Act; 

13 ‘‘(B) a background check of the individual 

14 conducted by a landlord, lessor, employer, vol15 untary service agency, or other entity as deter16 mined by the Attorney General; 

17 ‘‘(C) law enforcement; or 

18 ‘‘(D) a Federal, State, or local law require19 ment; or 

20 ‘‘(2) if the Social Security number is necessary 

21 to verify the identity of the consumer to effect, ad22 minister, or enforce the specific transaction re23 quested or authorized by the consumer, or to prevent 

24 fraud. 


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1 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES.— 

2 A violation of this section shall be deemed to be a violation 

3 of section 1129(a)(3)(F). 

4 ‘‘(c) APPLICATION OF CRIMINAL PENALTIES.—A vio5 lation of this section shall be deemed to be a violation of 

6 section 208(a)(8). 

7 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION ON CLASS ACTIONS.—No class ac8 tion alleging a violation of this section shall be maintained 

9 under this section by an individual or any private party 

10 in Federal or State court. 

11 ‘‘(e) STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 ‘‘(A) CIVIL ACTIONS.—In any case in 

14 which the attorney general of a State has rea15 son to believe that an interest of the residents 

16 of that State has been or is threatened or ad17 versely affected by the engagement of any per18 son in a practice that is prohibited under this 

19 section, the State, as parens patriae, may bring 

20 a civil action on behalf of the residents of the 

21 State in a district court of the United States of 

22 appropriate jurisdiction to— 

23 ‘‘(i) enjoin that practice; 

24 ‘‘(ii) enforce compliance with such 

25 section; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) obtain damages, restitution, or 

2 other compensation on behalf of residents 

3 of the State; or 

4 ‘‘(iv) obtain such other relief as the 

5 court may consider appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before filing an 

8 action under subparagraph (A), the attor9 ney general of the State involved shall pro10 vide to the Attorney General— 

11 ‘‘(I) written notice of the action; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(II) a copy of the complaint for 

14 the action. 

15 ‘‘(ii) EXEMPTION.— 

16 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Clause (i) 

17 shall not apply with respect to the fil18 ing of an action by an attorney gen19 eral of a State under this subsection, 

20 if the State attorney general deter21 mines that it is not feasible to provide 

22 the notice described in such subpara23 graph before the filing of the action. 

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1 clause (I), the attorney general of a 

2 State shall provide notice and a copy 

3 of the complaint to the Attorney Gen4 eral at the same time as the State at5 torney general files the action. 

6 ‘‘(2) INTERVENTION.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On receiving notice 

8 under paragraph (1)(B), the Attorney General 

9 shall have the right to intervene in the action 

10 that is the subject of the notice. 

11 ‘‘(B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 

12 Attorney General intervenes in the action under 

13 paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall have 

14 the right to be heard with respect to any matter 

15 that arises in that action. 

16 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bring17 ing any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in 

18 this section shall be construed to prevent an attor19 ney general of a State from exercising the powers 

20 conferred on such attorney general by the laws of 

21 that State to— 

22 ‘‘(A) conduct investigations; 

23 ‘‘(B) administer oaths or affirmations; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 

2 the production of documentary and other evi3 dence. 

4 ‘‘(4) ACTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF

5 THE UNITED STATES.—In any case in which an ac6 tion is instituted by or on behalf of the Attorney 

7 General for violation of a practice that is prohibited 

8 under this section, no State may, during the pend9 ency of that action, institute an action under para10 graph (1) against any defendant named in the com11 plaint in that action for violation of that practice. 

12 ‘‘(5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 

14 paragraph (1) may be brought in the district 

15 court of the United States that meets applicable 

16 requirements relating to venue under section 

17 1391 of title 28, United States Code. 

18 ‘‘(B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 

19 brought under paragraph (1), process may be 

20 served in any district in which the defendant— 

21 ‘‘(i) is an inhabitant; or 

22 ‘‘(ii) may be found. 

23 ‘‘(f) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply on or 

24 after the date that is 6 years after the effective date of 

25 this section.’’. 


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1 (b) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than the 

2 date that is 6 years and 6 months after the date of the 

3 enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consulta4 tion with the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, 

5 shall issue a report evaluating the effectiveness and effi6 ciency of section 1150C of the Social Security Act (as 

7 added by subsection (a)) and shall make recommendations 

8 to the Congress as to any legislative action determined to 

9 be necessary or advisable with respect to such section, in10 cluding a recommendation regarding whether to reauthor11 ize such section. 

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

13 subsection (a) shall apply to requests to provide a Social 

14 Security number occurring after the date that is 1 year 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 7. EXTENSION OF CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES FOR 

17 MISUSE OF A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

18 (a) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES TO

19 ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.—Section 1129(a) 

20 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)) is 

21 amended— 

22 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as 

23 paragraphs (4) and (5), respectively; 


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1 (2) by designating the last sentence of para2 graph (1) as paragraph (2) and inserting such para3 graph after paragraph (1); and 

4 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so des5 ignated and inserted under paragraph (2) of this 

6 subsection) the following: 

7 ‘‘(3) Any person (including an organization, agency, 

8 or other entity) who— 

9 ‘‘(A) uses a Social Security account number 

10 that such person knows or should know has been as11 signed by the Commissioner of Social Security (in an 

12 exercise of authority under section 205(c)(2) to es13 tablish and maintain records) on the basis of false 

14 information furnished to the Commissioner by any 

15 person; 

16 ‘‘(B) falsely represents a number to be the So17 cial Security account number assigned by the Com18 missioner of Social Security to any individual, when 

19 such person knows or should know that such number 

20 is not the Social Security account number assigned 

21 by the Commissioner to such individual; 

22 ‘‘(C) knowingly alters a Social Security card 

23 issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or 

24 possesses such a card with intent to alter it; 


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1 ‘‘(D) knowingly displays, sells, or purchases a 

2 card that is, or is purported to be, a card issued by 

3 the Commissioner of Social Security, or possesses 

4 such a card with intent to display, purchase, or sell 

5 it; 

6 ‘‘(E) counterfeits a Social Security card, or pos7 sesses a counterfeit Social Security card with intent 

8 to display, sell, or purchase it; 

9 ‘‘(F) discloses, uses, compels the disclosure of, 

10 or knowingly displays, sells, or purchases the Social 

11 Security account number of any person in violation 

12 of the laws of the United States; 

13 ‘‘(G) with intent to deceive the Commissioner of 

14 Social Security as to such person’s true identity (or 

15 the true identity of any other person) furnishes or 

16 causes to be furnished false information to the Com17 missioner with respect to any information required 

18 by the Commissioner in connection with the estab19 lishment and maintenance of the records provided 

20 for in section 205(c)(2); 

21 ‘‘(H) offers, for a fee, to acquire for any indi22 vidual, or to assist in acquiring for any individual, 

23 an additional Social Security account number or a 

24 number which is or is purported to be a Social Secu25 rity account number; or 


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1 ‘‘(I) being an officer or employee of a Federal, 

2 State, or local agency in possession of any individ3 ual’s Social Security account number, willfully acts 

4 or fails to act so as to cause a violation by such 

5 agency of section 205(c)(2)(C)(vi)(II) (relating to 

6 prohibition of display of Social Security account 

7 numbers on driver’s licenses, motor vehicle registra8 tions, and personal identification cards) or section 

9 205(c)(2)(C)(x) (added by Public Law 111–318 and 

10 relating to prohibition of display of Social Security 

11 account numbers on checks issued for payment by 

12 Federal, State, or local agencies), 

13 shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalties that 

14 may be prescribed by law, a civil money penalty of not 

15 more than $5,000 for each violation. Such person shall 

16 also be subject to an assessment, in lieu of damages sus17 tained by the United States resulting from such violation, 

18 of not more than twice the amount of any benefits or pay19 ments paid as a result of such violation.’’. 

20 (b) EFFECTIVE DATES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para22 graph (2), the amendments made by this section 

23 shall apply with respect to violations of section 1129 

24 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320–8), as 


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1 amended by this section, committed after the date of 

2 the enactment of this Act. 

3 (2) VIOLATIONS BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS IN

4 POSSESSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.—Sec5 tion 1129(a)(3)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(3)(I)), as added by subsection 

7 (a), shall apply with respect to violations of that sec8 tion occurring on or after the effective date de9 scribed in section 3(c). 

10 SEC. 8. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR THE MISUSE OF A SO11 CIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 

12 (a) PROHIBITION OF WRONGFUL USE AS PERSONAL

13 IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—No person may obtain any 

14 individual’s Social Security number for purposes of locat15 ing or identifying an individual with the intent to phys16 ically injure, harm, or use the identity of the individual 

17 for any illegal purpose. 

18 (b) CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.—Section 208(a) of the 

19 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408(a)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (8), by adding ‘‘or’’ after the 

21 semicolon; and 

22 (2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(9) except as provided in subsections (e) and 

25 (f) of section 1028B of title 18, United States Code, 


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1 knowingly and willfully displays, sells, or purchases 

2 (as those terms are defined in section 1028B(a) of 

3 title 18, United States Code) any individual’s Social 

4 Security account number without having met the 

5 prerequisites for consent under section 1028B(d) of 

6 title 18, United States Code; or 

7 ‘‘(10) obtains any individual’s Social Security 

8 number for the purpose of locating or identifying the 

9 individual with the intent to injure or to harm that 

10 individual, or to use the identity of that individual 

11 for an illegal purpose;’’. 

12 SEC. 9. CIVIL ACTIONS AND CIVIL PENALTIES. 

13 (a) CIVIL ACTION IN STATE COURTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual aggrieved by 

15 an act of any person in violation of this Act, any 

16 amendments made by this Act, or clause (x) or (xi) 

17 of section 205(c)(2)(C) of the Social Security Act 

18 (added by the Social Security Number Protection 

19 Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–318)) may, if other20 wise permitted by the laws or rules of the court of 

21 a State, bring in an appropriate court of that 

22 State— 

23 (A) an action to enjoin such violation; 

24 (B) an action to recover for actual mone25 tary loss from such a violation, or to receive up 


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1 to $500 in damages for each such violation, 

2 whichever is greater; or 

3 (C) both such actions. 

4 It shall be an affirmative defense in any action 

5 brought under this paragraph that the defendant 

6 has established and implemented, with due care, rea7 sonable practices and procedures to effectively pre8 vent violations of the provisions of this Act, the 

9 amendments made by this Act, such clause (x) or 

10 (xi), or regulations prescribed under this Act, such 

11 amendments, or such clause. If the court finds that 

12 the defendant willfully or knowingly violated any 

13 such provision, the court may, in its discretion, in14 crease the amount of the award to an amount equal 

15 to not more than 3 times the amount available 

16 under subparagraph (B). 

17 (2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action may 

18 be commenced under this subsection not later than 

19 the earlier of— 

20 (A) 5 years after the date on which the al21 leged violation occurred; or 

22 (B) 3 years after the date on which the al23 leged violation was or should have been reason24 ably discovered by the aggrieved individual. 


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1 (3) NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—The remedy pro2 vided under this subsection shall be in addition to 

3 any other remedies available to the individual. 

4 (b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who the Attor6 ney General determines has violated any provision of 

7 this Act, the amendments made by this Act, or 

8 clause (x) or (xi) of section 205(c)(2)(C) of the So9 cial Security Act (added by the Social Security 

10 Number Protection Act of 2010 (Public Law 111– 

11 318)) shall be subject, in addition to any other pen12 alties that may be prescribed by law— 

13 (A) to a civil penalty of not more than 

14 $5,000 for each such violation; and 

15 (B) to a civil penalty of not more than 

16 $50,000, if the violations have occurred with 

17 such frequency as to constitute a general busi18 ness practice. 

19 (2) DETERMINATION OF VIOLATIONS.—Any 

20 willful violation committed contemporaneously with 

21 respect to the Social Security numbers of two or 

22 more individuals by means of mail, telecommuni23 cation, or otherwise, shall be treated as a separate 

24 violation with respect to each such individual. 


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1 (3) ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES.—The provi2 sions of section 1128A of the Social Security Act 

3 (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a), other than subsections (a), 

4 (b), (f), (h), (i), (j), (m), and (n) and the first sen5 tence of subsection (c) of such section, and the pro6 visions of subsections (d) and (e) of section 205 of 

7 such Act (42 U.S.C. 405) shall apply to a civil pen8 alty action under this subsection in the same man9 ner as such provisions apply to a penalty or pro10 ceeding under section 1128A(a) of such Act (42 

11 U.S.C. 1320a–7a(a)), except that, for purposes of 

12 this paragraph, any reference in section 1128A of 

13 such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a) to the Secretary 

14 shall be deemed to be a reference to the Attorney 

15 General. 

16 SEC. 10. FEDERAL INJUNCTIVE AUTHORITY. 

17 In addition to any other enforcement authority con18 ferred under this Act or the amendments made by this 

19 Act, the Federal Government shall have injunctive author20 ity with respect to any violation by a public entity of any 

21 provision of this Act, of any amendments made by this 

22 Act, or of clause (x) or (xi) of section 205(c)(2)(C) of the 

23 Social Security Act (added by the Social Security Number 

24 Protection Act of 2010 (Public Law 111–318)). 

Æ 


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