The government never succeeded in getting neither one of the largest private insurance companies nor one of the largest banks to stop using the number as part of their account numbers. As people get more accustomed to computers, their fear of their misuse gets smaller. I personally feel that to me, the benefits strongly outweighs the problems. This conclusion may be different in other countries. Sweden is a small stable country with less crime than many other countries.
Misuse is probably easier to find out about, and stop, than in other countries.
Other documents of interest.