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 se-
curity numbers to public records. 
Sec. 5. Rulemaking authority of the Attorney General. 
Sec. 6. Treatment of social security numbers on government documents. 
Sec. 7. Limits on personal disclosure of a social security number for consumer 
transactions. 
Sec. 8. Extension of civil monetary penalties for misuse of a social security 
number. 
Sec. 9. Criminal penalties for the misuse of a social security number. 
Sec. 10. Civil actions and civil penalties. 
Sec. 11. Federal injunctive authority.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The inappropriate display, sale, or purchase 
of social security numbers has contributed to a 
growing range of illegal activities, including fraud, 
identity theft, and, in some cases, stalking and other 
violent crimes. 
(2) While financial institutions, health care pro-
viders, and other entities have often used social se-
curity numbers to confirm the identity of an indi-
vidual, the general display to the public, sale, or pur-
chase of these numbers has been used to commit 
crimes, and also can result in serious invasions of in-
dividual privacy. 
(3) The Federal Government requires virtually 
every individual in the United States to obtain and 
maintain a social security number in order to pay 
taxes, to qualify for social security benefits, or to 
seek employment. An unintended consequence of
these requirements is that social security numbers 
have become one of the tools that can be used to fa-
cilitate crime, fraud, and invasions of the privacy of 
the individuals to whom the numbers are assigned. 
Because the Federal Government created and main-
tains this system, and because the Federal Govern-
ment does not permit individuals to exempt them-
selves from those requirements, it is appropriate for 
the Federal Government to take steps to stem the 
abuse of social security numbers. 
(4) The display, sale, or purchase of social secu-
rity numbers in no way facilitates uninhibited, ro-
bust, and wide-open public debate, and restrictions 
on such display, sale, or purchase would not affect 
public debate. 
(5) No one should seek to profit from the dis-
play, sale, or purchase of social security numbers in 
circumstances that create a substantial risk of phys-
ical, emotional, or financial harm to the individuals 
to whom those numbers are assigned. 
(6) Consequently, this Act provides each indi-
vidual that has been assigned a social security num-
ber some degree of protection from the display, sale, 
and purchase of that number in any circumstance 
that might facilitate unlawful conduct.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, SALE, OR PUR-
CHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after 
section 1028 the following: 
‘‘§ 1028A. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase 
of social security numbers 
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) DISPLAY.—The term ‘display’ means to in-
tentionally communicate or otherwise make available 
(on the Internet or in any other manner) to the gen-
eral public an individual’s social security number. 
‘‘(2) PERSON.—The term ‘person’ means any 
individual, partnership, corporation, trust, estate, co-
operative, association, or any other entity. 
‘‘(3) PURCHASE.—The term ‘purchase’ means 
providing directly or indirectly, anything of value in 
exchange for a social security number. 
‘‘(4) SALE.—The term ‘sale’ means obtaining, 
directly or indirectly, anything of value in exchange 
for a social security number. 
‘‘(5) STATE.—The term ‘State’ means any 
State of the United States, the District of Columbia, 
Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the 
United States Virgin Islands, Guam, American
Samoa, and any territory or possession of the 
United States. 
‘‘(b) LIMITATION ON DISPLAY.—Except as provided 
in section 1028B, no person may display any individual’s 
social security number to the general public without the 
affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON SALE OR PURCHASE.—Except 
as otherwise provided in this section, no person may sell 
or purchase any individual’s social security number with-
out the affirmatively expressed consent of the individual. 
‘‘(d) PREREQUISITES FOR CONSENT.—In order for 
consent to exist under subsection (b) or (c), the person 
displaying or seeking to display, selling or attempting to 
sell, or purchasing or attempting to purchase, an individ-
ual’s social security number shall—
‘‘(1) inform the individual of the general pur-
pose for which the number will be used, the types of 
persons to whom the number may be available, and 
the scope of transactions permitted by the consent; 
and 
‘‘(2) obtain the affirmatively expressed consent 
(electronically or in writing) of the individual. 
‘‘(e) EXCEPTIONS.—Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prohibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase 
of a social security number—
‘‘(1) required, authorized, or excepted under 
any Federal law; 
‘‘(2) for a public health purpose, including the 
protection of the health or safety of an individual in 
an emergency situation; 
‘‘(3) for a national security purpose; 
‘‘(4) for a law enforcement purpose, including 
the investigation of fraud and the enforcement of a 
child support obligation; 
‘‘(5) if the display, sale, or purchase of the 
number is for a use occurring as a result of an inter-
action between businesses, governments, or business 
and government (regardless of which entity initiates 
the interaction), including, but not limited to—
‘‘(A) the prevention of fraud (including 
fraud in protecting an employee’s right to em-
ployment benefits); 
‘‘(B) the facilitation of credit checks or the 
facilitation of background checks of employees, 
prospective employees, or volunteers; 
‘‘(C) the retrieval of other information 
from other businesses, commercial enterprises, 
government entities, or private nonprofit orga-
nizations; or
‘‘(D) when the transmission of the number 
is incidental to, and in the course of, the sale, 
lease, franchising, or merger of all, or a portion 
of, a business; 
‘‘(6) if the transfer of such a number is part of 
a data matching program involving a Federal, State, 
or local agency; or 
‘‘(7) if such number is required to be submitted 
as part of the process for applying for any type of 
Federal, State, or local government benefit or pro-
gram; 
except that, nothing in this subsection shall be construed 
as permitting a professional or commercial user to display 
or sell a social security number to the general public. 
‘‘(f) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this section shall pro-
hibit or limit the display, sale, or purchase of social secu-
rity numbers as permitted under title V of the Gramm-
Leach-Bliley Act, or for the purpose of affiliate sharing 
as permitted under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, except 
that no entity regulated under such Acts may make social 
security numbers available to the general public, as may 
be determined by the appropriate regulators under such 
Acts. For purposes of this subsection, the general public 
shall not include affiliates or unaffiliated third-party busi-
ness entities as may be defined by the appropriate regu-
lators.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—The chapter 
analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 
Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 1028 the following:
‘‘1028A. Prohibition of the display, sale, or purchase of social security num-
bers.’’.
(b) STUDY; REPORT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall 
conduct a study and prepare a report on all of the 
uses of social security numbers permitted, required, 
authorized, or excepted under any Federal law. The 
report shall include a detailed description of the uses 
allowed as of the date of enactment of this Act and 
shall evaluate whether such uses should be continued 
or discontinued by appropriate legislative action. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General 
shall report to Congress findings under this sub-
section. The report shall include such recommenda-
tions for legislation based on criteria the Attorney 
General determines to be appropriate. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 
this section shall take effect on the date that is 30 days
after the date on which the final regulations promulgated 
under section 5 are published in the Federal Register. 
SEC. 4. APPLICATION OF PROHIBITION OF THE DISPLAY, 
SALE, OR PURCHASE OF SOCIAL SECURITY 
NUMBERS TO PUBLIC RECORDS. 
(a) PUBLIC RECORDS EXCEPTION.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Chapter 47 of title 18, 
United States Code (as amended by section 3(a)(1)), 
is amended by inserting after section 1028A the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘§ 1028B. Display, sale, or purchase of public records 
containing social security numbers 
‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘public 
record’ means any governmental record that is made avail-
able to the general public. 
‘‘(b) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in sub-
sections (c), (d), and (e), section 1028A shall not apply 
to a public record. 
‘‘(c) PUBLIC RECORDS ON THE INTERNET OR IN AN 
ELECTRONIC MEDIUM.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 1028A shall apply 
to any public record first posted onto the Internet 
or provided in an electronic medium by, or on behalf 
of a government entity after the date of enactment
of this section, except as limited by the Attorney 
General in accordance with paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR GOVERNMENT ENTITIES 
ALREADY PLACING PUBLIC RECORDS ON THE INTER-
NET OR IN ELECTRONIC FORM.—Not later than 60 
days after the date of enactment of this section, the 
Attorney General shall issue regulations regarding 
the applicability of section 1028A to any record of 
a category of public records first posted onto the 
Internet or provided in an electronic medium by, or 
on behalf of a government entity prior to the date 
of enactment of this section. The regulations will de-
termine which individual records within categories of 
records of these government entities, if any, may 
continue to be posted on the Internet or in electronic 
form after the effective date of this section. In pro-
mulgating these regulations, the Attorney General 
may include in the regulations a set of procedures 
for implementing the regulations and shall consider 
the following: 
‘‘(A) The cost and availability of tech-
nology available to a governmental entity to re-
dact social security numbers from public 
records first provided in electronic form after 
the effective date of this section.
‘‘(B) The cost or burden to the general 
public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non-
profit organizations, and to Federal, State, and 
local governments of complying with section 
1028A with respect to such records. 
‘‘(C) The benefit to the general public, 
businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit 
organizations, and to Federal, State, and local 
governments if the Attorney General were to 
determine that section 1028A should apply to 
such records. 
Nothing in the regulation shall permit a public enti-
ty to post a category of public records on the Inter-
net or in electronic form after the effective date of 
this section if such category had not been placed on 
the Internet or in electronic form prior to such effec-
tive date. 
‘‘(d) HARVESTED SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.—
Section 1028A shall apply to any public record of a gov-
ernment entity which contains social security numbers ex-
tracted from other public records for the purpose of dis-
playing or selling such numbers to the general public. 
‘‘(e) ATTORNEY GENERAL RULEMAKING ON PAPER 
RECORDS.—
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days 
after the date of enactment of this section, the At-
torney General shall determine the feasibility and 
advisability of applying section 1028A to the records 
listed in paragraph (2) when they appear on paper 
or on another nonelectronic medium. If the Attorney 
General deems it appropriate, the Attorney General 
may issue regulations applying section 1028A to 
such records. 
‘‘(2) LIST
OF
PAPER
AND
OTHER
NONELEC-
TRONIC RECORDS.—The records listed in this para-
graph are as follows: 
‘‘(A) Professional or occupational licenses. 
‘‘(B) Marriage licenses. 
‘‘(C) Birth certificates. 
‘‘(D) Death certificates. 
‘‘(E) Other short public documents that 
display a social security number in a routine 
and consistent manner on the face of the docu-
ment. 
‘‘(3) CRITERIA FOR ATTORNEY GENERAL RE-
VIEW.—In determining whether section 1028A 
should apply to the records listed in paragraph (2), 
the Attorney General shall consider the following:
‘‘(A) The cost or burden to the general 
public, businesses, commercial enterprises, non-
profit organizations, and to Federal, State, and 
local governments of complying with section 
1028A. 
‘‘(B) The benefit to the general public, 
businesses, commercial enterprises, non-profit 
organizations, and to Federal, State, and local 
governments if the Attorney General were to 
determine that section 1028A should apply to 
such records.’’. 
(2) CONFORMING
AMENDMENT.—The chapter 
analysis for chapter 47 of title 18, United States 
Code (as amended by section 3(a)(2)), is amended 
by inserting after the item relating to section 1028A 
the following:
‘‘1028B. Display, sale, or purchase of public records containing social security 
numbers.’’.
(b) STUDY AND REPORT ON SOCIAL SECURITY NUM-
BERS IN PUBLIC RECORDS.—
(1) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the 
United States shall conduct a study and prepare a 
report on social security numbers in public records. 
In developing the report, the Comptroller General 
shall consult with the Administrative Office of the 
United States Courts, State and local governments
that store, maintain, or disseminate public records, 
and other stakeholders, including members of the 
private sector who routinely use public records that 
contain social security numbers. 
(2) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller Gen-
eral of the United States shall submit to Congress 
a report on the study conducted under paragraph 
(1). The report shall include a detailed description 
of the activities and results of the study and rec-
ommendations for such legislative action as the 
Comptroller General considers appropriate. The re-
port, at a minimum, shall include—
(A) a review of the uses of social security 
numbers in non-federal public records; 
(B) a review of the manner in which public 
records are stored (with separate reviews for 
both paper records and electronic records); 
(C) a review of the advantages or utility of 
public records that contain social security num-
bers, including the utility for law enforcement, 
and for the promotion of homeland security; 
(D) a review of the disadvantages or draw-
backs of public records that contain social secu-
rity numbers, including criminal activity, com-
promised personal privacy, or threats to home-
land security; 
(E) the costs and benefits for State and 
local governments of removing social security 
numbers from public records, including a review 
of current technologies and procedures for re-
moving social security numbers from public 
records; and 
(F) an assessment of the benefits and 
costs to businesses, their customers, and the 
general public of prohibiting the display of so-
cial security numbers on public records (with 
separate assessments for both paper records 
and electronic records).
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibition with respect 
to electronic versions of new classes of public records 
under section 1028B(b) of title 18, United States Code 
(as added by subsection (a)(1)) shall not take effect until 
the date that is 60 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
SEC. 5. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY OF THE ATTORNEY GEN-
ERAL. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), the Attorney General may prescribe such rules and 
regulations as the Attorney General deems necessary to
carry out the provisions of section 1028A(e)(5) of title 18, 
United States Code (as added by section 3(a)(1)). 
(b) DISPLAY, SALE, OR PURCHASE RULEMAKING 
WITH
RESPECT
TO
INTERACTIONS
BETWEEN
BUSI-
NESSES, GOVERNMENTS, OR BUSINESS
AND GOVERN-
MENT.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen-
eral, in consultation with the Commissioner of Social 
Security, the Chairman of the Federal Trade Com-
mission, and such other heads of Federal agencies as 
the Attorney General determines appropriate, shall 
conduct such rulemaking procedures in accordance 
with subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United 
States Code, as are necessary to promulgate regula-
tions to implement and clarify the uses occurring as 
a result of an interaction between businesses, gov-
ernments, or business and government (regardless of 
which entity initiates the interaction) permitted 
under section 1028A(e)(5) of title 18, United States 
Code (as added by section 3(a)(1)). 
(2) FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED.—In promul-
gating the regulations required under paragraph (1), 
the Attorney General shall, at a minimum, consider 
the following:
(A) The benefit to a particular business, to 
customers of the business, and to the general 
public of the display, sale, or purchase of an in-
dividual’s social security number.
(B) The costs that businesses, customers 
of businesses, and the general public may incur 
as a result of prohibitions on the display, sale, 
or purchase of social security numbers. 
(C) The risk that a particular business 
practice will promote the use of a social security 
number to commit fraud, deception, or crime. 
(D) The presence of adequate safeguards 
and procedures to prevent—
(i) misuse of social security numbers 
by employees within a business; and 
(ii) misappropriation of social security 
numbers by the general public, while per-
mitting internal business uses of such 
numbers. 
(E) The presence of procedures to prevent 
identity thieves, stalkers, and other individuals 
with ill intent from posing as legitimate busi-
nesses to obtain social security numbers.
SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS ON 
GOVERNMENT DOCUMENTS. 
(a) PROHIBITION OF USE OF SOCIAL SECURITY AC-
COUNT NUMBERS ON CHECKS ISSUED FOR PAYMENT BY 
GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(x) No Federal, State, or local agency may display 
the social security account number of any individual, or 
any derivative of such number, on any check issued for 
any payment by the Federal, State, or local agency.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by this subsection shall apply with respect to viola-
tions of section 205(c)(2)(C)(x) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(x)), as added by 
paragraph (1), occurring after the date that is 3 
years after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(b) PROHIBITION OF APPEARANCE OF SOCIAL SECU-
RITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS ON DRIVER’S LICENSES OR 
MOTOR VEHICLE REGISTRATION.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C)(vi) of 
the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)(vi)) 
is amended—
(A) by inserting ‘‘(I)’’ after ‘‘(vi)’’; and 
(B) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(II)(aa) An agency of a State (or political subdivi-
sion thereof), in the administration of any driver’s license 
or motor vehicle registration law within its jurisdiction, 
may not display the social security account numbers 
issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or any de-
rivative of such numbers, on the face of any driver’s li-
cense or motor vehicle registration or any other document 
issued by such State (or political subdivision thereof) to 
an individual for purposes of identification of such indi-
vidual. 
‘‘(bb) Nothing in this subclause shall be construed 
as precluding an agency of a State (or political subdivision 
thereof), in the administration of any driver’s license or 
motor vehicle registration law within its jurisdiction, from 
using a social security account number for an internal use 
or to link with the database of an agency of another State 
that is responsible for the administration of any driver’s 
license or motor vehicle registration law.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 
by this subsection shall apply with respect to li-
censes, registrations, and other documents issued or 
reissued after the date that is 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
(c) PROHIBITION OF INMATE ACCESS TO SOCIAL SE-
CURITY ACCOUNT NUMBERS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Section 205(c)(2)(C) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 405(c)(2)(C)) (as 
amended by subsection (b)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(xi) No Federal, State, or local agency may employ, 
or enter into a contract for the use or employment of, pris-
oners in any capacity that would allow such prisoners ac-
cess to the social security account numbers of other indi-
viduals. For purposes of this clause, the term ‘prisoner’ 
means an individual confined in a jail, prison, or other 
penal institution or correctional facility pursuant to such 
individual’s conviction of a criminal offense.’’. 
(2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 
by this subsection shall apply with respect to em-
ployment of prisoners, or entry into contract with 
prisoners, after the date that is 1 year after the date 
of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 7. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SOCIAL 
SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER TRANS-
ACTIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title XI of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1301 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 1150A. LIMITS ON PERSONAL DISCLOSURE OF A SO-
CIAL SECURITY NUMBER FOR CONSUMER 
TRANSACTIONS. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A commercial entity may not re-
quire an individual to provide the individual’s social secu-
rity number when purchasing a commercial good or service 
or deny an individual the good or service for refusing to 
provide that number except—
‘‘(1) for any purpose relating to—
‘‘(A) obtaining a consumer report for any 
purpose permitted under the Fair Credit Re-
porting Act; 
‘‘(B) a background check of the individual 
conducted by a landlord, lessor, employer, vol-
untary service agency, or other entity as deter-
mined by the Attorney General; 
‘‘(C) law enforcement; or 
‘‘(D) a Federal, State, or local law require-
ment; or 
‘‘(2) if the social security number is necessary 
to verify the identity of the consumer to effect, ad-
minister, or enforce the specific transaction re-
quested or authorized by the consumer, or to prevent 
fraud.
‘‘(iii) obtain damages, restitution, or 
other compensation on behalf of residents 
of the State; or 
‘‘(iv) obtain such other relief as the 
court may consider appropriate. 
‘‘(B) NOTICE.—
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—Before filing an 
action under subparagraph (A), the attor-
ney general of the State involved shall pro-
vide to the Attorney General—
‘‘(I) written notice of the action; 
and 
‘‘(II) a copy of the complaint for 
the action. 
‘‘(ii) EXEMPTION.—
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—Clause (i) 
shall not apply with respect to the fil-
ing of an action by an attorney gen-
eral of a State under this subsection, 
if the State attorney general deter-
mines that it is not feasible to provide 
the notice described in such subpara-
graph before the filing of the action. 
‘‘(II) NOTIFICATION.—With re-
spect to an action described in sub-
clause (I), the attorney general of a 
State shall provide notice and a copy 
of the complaint to the Attorney Gen-
eral at the same time as the State at-
torney general files the action. 
‘‘(2) INTERVENTION.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—On receiving notice 
under paragraph (1)(B), the Attorney General 
shall have the right to intervene in the action 
that is the subject of the notice. 
‘‘(B) EFFECT OF INTERVENTION.—If the 
Attorney General intervenes in the action under 
paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall have 
the right to be heard with respect to any matter 
that arises in that action. 
‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bring-
ing any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in 
this section shall be construed to prevent an attor-
ney general of a State from exercising the powers 
conferred on such attorney general by the laws of 
that State to—
‘‘(A) conduct investigations; 
‘‘(B) administer oaths or affirmations; or
‘‘(C) compel the attendance of witnesses or 
the production of documentary and other evi-
dence. 
‘‘(4) ACTIONS BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF 
THE UNITED STATES.—In any case in which an ac-
tion is instituted by or on behalf of the Attorney 
General for violation of a practice that is prohibited 
under this section, no State may, during the pend-
ency of that action, institute an action under para-
graph (1) against any defendant named in the com-
plaint in that action for violation of that practice. 
‘‘(5) VENUE; SERVICE OF PROCESS.—
‘‘(A) VENUE.—Any action brought under 
paragraph (1) may be brought in the district 
court of the United States that meets applicable 
requirements relating to venue under section 
1391 of title 28, United States Code. 
‘‘(B) SERVICE OF PROCESS.—In an action 
brought under paragraph (1), process may be 
served in any district in which the defendant—
‘‘(i) is an inhabitant; or 
‘‘(ii) may be found. 
‘‘(f) SUNSET.—This section shall not apply on or 
after the date that is 6 years after the effective date of 
this section.’’.
(b) EVALUATION AND REPORT.—Not later than the 
date that is 6 years and 6 months after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation 
with the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, shall 
issue a report evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency 
of section 1150A of the Social Security Act (as added by 
subsection (a)) and shall make recommendations to Con-
gress as to any legislative action determined to be nec-
essary or advisable with respect to such section, including 
a recommendation regarding whether to reauthorize such 
section. 
(c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 
subsection (a) shall apply to requests to provide a social 
security number occurring after the date that is 1 year 
after the date of enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 8. EXTENSION OF CIVIL MONETARY PENALTIES FOR 
MISUSE OF A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 
(a) TREATMENT OF WITHHOLDING OF MATERIAL 
FACTS.—
(1) CIVIL PENALTIES.—The first sentence of 
section 1129(a)(1) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(1)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘who’’ and inserting 
‘‘who—’’;
(B) by striking ‘‘makes’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘shall be subject to’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(A) makes, or causes to be made, a statement 
or representation of a material fact, for use in deter-
mining any initial or continuing right to or the 
amount of monthly insurance benefits under title II 
or benefits or payments under title VIII or XVI, 
that the person knows or should know is false or 
misleading; 
‘‘(B) makes such a statement or representation 
for such use with knowing disregard for the truth; 
or 
‘‘(C) omits from a statement or representation 
for such use, or otherwise withholds disclosure of, a 
fact which the individual knows or should know is 
material to the determination of any initial or con-
tinuing right to or the amount of monthly insurance 
benefits under title II or benefits or payments under 
title VIII or XVI and the individual knows, or 
should know, that the statement or representation 
with such omission is false or misleading or that the 
withholding of such disclosure is misleading, 
shall be subject to’’;
(C) by inserting ‘‘or each receipt of such 
benefits while withholding disclosure of such 
fact’’ after ‘‘each such statement or representa-
tion’’; 
(D) by inserting ‘‘or because of such with-
holding of disclosure of a material fact’’ after 
‘‘because of such statement or representation’’; 
and
(E) by inserting ‘‘or such a withholding of 
disclosure’’ after ‘‘such a statement or rep-
resentation’’. 
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE FOR IMPOS-
ING
PENALTIES.—The first sentence of section 
1129A(a) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 
1320a–8a(a)) is amended—
(A) by striking ‘‘who’’ and inserting 
‘‘who—’’; and 
(B) by striking ‘‘makes’’ and all that fol-
lows through ‘‘shall be subject to’’ and inserting 
the following: 
‘‘(1) makes, or causes to be made, a statement 
or representation of a material fact, for use in deter-
mining any initial or continuing right to or the 
amount of monthly insurance benefits under title II 
or benefits or payments under title VIII or XVI,
that the person knows or should know is false or 
misleading; 
‘‘(2) makes such a statement or representation 
for such use with knowing disregard for the truth; 
or 
‘‘(3) omits from a statement or representation 
for such use, or otherwise withholds disclosure of, a 
fact which the individual knows or should know is 
material to the determination of any initial or con-
tinuing right to or the amount of monthly insurance 
benefits under title II or benefits or payments under 
title VIII or XVI and the individual knows, or 
should know, that the statement or representation 
with such omission is false or misleading or that the 
withholding of such disclosure is misleading, 
shall be subject to’’. 
(b) APPLICATION OF CIVIL MONEY PENALTIES TO 
ELEMENTS OF CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS.—Section 1129(a) 
of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)), as 
amended by subsection (a)(1), is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraph (2) as para-
graph (4); 
(2) by redesignating the last sentence of para-
graph (1) as paragraph (2) and inserting such para-
graph after paragraph (1); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re-
designated) the following: 
‘‘(3) Any person (including an organization, agency, 
or other entity) who—
‘‘(A) uses a social security account number that 
such person knows or should know has been as-
signed by the Commissioner of Social Security (in an 
exercise of authority under section 205(c)(2) to es-
tablish and maintain records) on the basis of false 
information furnished to the Commissioner by any 
person; 
‘‘(B) falsely represents a number to be the so-
cial security account number assigned by the Com-
missioner of Social Security to any individual, when 
such person knows or should know that such number 
is not the social security account number assigned 
by the Commissioner to such individual; 
‘‘(C) knowingly alters a social security card 
issued by the Commissioner of Social Security, or 
possesses such a card with intent to alter it; 
‘‘(D) knowingly displays, sells, or purchases a 
card that is, or purports to be, a card issued by the 
Commissioner of Social Security, or possesses such 
a card with intent to display, purchase, or sell it;
‘‘(E) counterfeits a social security card, or pos-
sesses a counterfeit social security card with intent 
to display, sell, or purchase it; 
‘‘(F) discloses, uses, compels the disclosure of, 
or knowingly displays, sells, or purchases the social 
security account number of any person in violation 
of the laws of the United States; 
‘‘(G) with intent to deceive the Commissioner of 
Social Security as to such person’s true identity (or 
the true identity of any other person) furnishes or 
causes to be furnished false information to the Com-
missioner with respect to any information required 
by the Commissioner in connection with the estab-
lishment and maintenance of the records provided 
for in section 205(c)(2); 
‘‘(H) offers, for a fee, to acquire for any indi-
vidual, or to assist in acquiring for any individual, 
an additional social security account number or a 
number which purports to be a social security ac-
count number; or 
‘‘(I) being an officer or employee of a Federal, 
State, or local agency in possession of any individ-
ual’s social security account number, willfully acts or 
fails to act so as to cause a violation by such agency 
of clause (vi)(II) or (x) of section 205(c)(2)(C),
shall be subject to, in addition to any other penalties that 
may be prescribed by law, a civil money penalty of not 
more than $5,000 for each violation. Such person shall 
also be subject to an assessment, in lieu of damages sus-
tained by the United States resulting from such violation, 
of not more than twice the amount of any benefits or pay-
ments paid as a result of such violation.’’. 
(c) CLARIFICATION OF TREATMENT OF RECOVERED 
AMOUNTS.—Section 1129(e)(2)(B) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(e)(2)(B)) is amended by striking 
‘‘In the case of amounts recovered arising out of a deter-
mination relating to title VIII or XVI,’’ and inserting ‘‘In 
the case of any other amounts recovered under this sec-
tion,’’. 
(d) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—
(1) Section 1129(b)(3)(A) of the Social Secu-
rity Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(b)(3)(A)) is amended 
by striking ‘‘charging fraud or false statements’’. 
(2) Section 1129(c)(1) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(c)(1)) is amended by strik-
ing ‘‘and representations’’ and inserting ‘‘, represen-
tations, or actions’’. 
(3) Section 1129(e)(1)(A) of the Social Security 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–8(e)(1)(A)) is amended by 
striking ‘‘statement or representation referred to in
subsection (a) was made’’ and inserting ‘‘violation 
occurred’’. 
(e) EFFECTIVE DATES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), the amendments made by this section 
shall apply with respect to violations of sections 
1129 and 1129A of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320–8 and 1320a–8a), as amended by this 
section, committed after the date of enactment of 
this Act. 
(2) VIOLATIONS BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS IN 
POSSESSION OF SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS.—Sec-
tion 1129(a)(3)(I) of the Social Security Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320a–8(a)(3)(I)), as added by subsection 
(b), shall apply with respect to violations of that sec-
tion occurring on or after the effective date de-
scribed in section 3(c). 
SEC. 9. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR THE MISUSE OF A SO-
CIAL SECURITY NUMBER. 
(a) PROHIBITION OF WRONGFUL USE AS PERSONAL 
IDENTIFICATION NUMBER.—No person may obtain any 
individual’s social security number for purposes of locating 
or identifying an individual with the intent to physically 
injure, harm, or use the identity of the individual for any 
illegal purpose.
(b) CRIMINAL SANCTIONS.—Section 208(a) of the 
Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 408(a)) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (8), by inserting ‘‘or’’ after 
the semicolon; and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (8) the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(9) except as provided in subsections (e) and 
(f) of section 1028A of title 18, United States Code, 
knowingly and willfully displays, sells, or purchases 
(as those terms are defined in section 1028A(a) of 
title 18, United States Code) any individual’s social 
security account number without having met the 
prerequisites for consent under section 1028A(d) of 
title 18, United States Code; or 
‘‘(10) obtains any individual’s social security 
number for the purpose of locating or identifying the 
individual with the intent to injure or to harm that 
individual, or to use the identity of that individual 
for an illegal purpose;’’. 
SEC. 10. CIVIL ACTIONS AND CIVIL PENALTIES. 
(a) CIVIL ACTION IN STATE COURTS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any individual aggrieved by 
an act of any person in violation of this Act or any 
amendments made by this Act may, if otherwise per-
mitted by the laws or rules of the court of a State, 
bring in an appropriate court of that State—
(A) an action to enjoin such violation; 
(B) an action to recover for actual mone-
tary loss from such a violation, or to receive up 
to $500 in damages for each such violation, 
whichever is greater; or 
(C) both such actions. 
It shall be an affirmative defense in any action 
brought under this paragraph that the defendant 
has established and implemented, with due care, rea-
sonable practices and procedures to effectively pre-
vent violations of the regulations prescribed under 
this Act. If the court finds that the defendant will-
fully or knowingly violated the regulations prescribed 
under this subsection, the court may, in its discre-
tion, increase the amount of the award to an amount 
equal to not more than 3 times the amount available 
under subparagraph (B). 
(2) STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS.—An action may 
be commenced under this subsection not later than 
the earlier of—
(A) 5 years after the date on which the al-
leged violation occurred; or
(B) 3 years after the date on which the al-
leged violation was or should have been reason-
ably discovered by the aggrieved individual. 
(3) NONEXCLUSIVE REMEDY.—The remedy pro-
vided under this subsection shall be in addition to 
any other remedies available to the individual. 
(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who the Attor-
ney General determines has violated any section of 
this Act or of any amendments made by this Act 
shall be subject, in addition to any other penalties 
that may be prescribed by law—
(A) to a civil penalty of not more than 
$5,000 for each such violation; and 
(B) to a civil penalty of not more than 
$50,000, if the violations have occurred with 
such frequency as to constitute a general busi-
ness practice. 
(2) DETERMINATION
OF
VIOLATIONS.—Any 
willful violation committed contemporaneously with 
respect to the social security numbers of 2 or more 
individuals by means of mail, telecommunication, or 
otherwise, shall be treated as a separate violation 
with respect to each such individual.
(3) ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES.—The provi-
sions of section 1128A of the Social Security Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a), other than subsections (a), 
(b), (f), (h), (i), (j), (m), and (n) and the first sen-
tence of subsection (c) of such section, and the pro-
visions of subsections (d) and (e) of section 205 of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 405) shall apply to a civil pen-
alty action under this subsection in the same man-
ner as such provisions apply to a penalty or pro-
ceeding under section 1128A(a) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 1320a–7a(a)), except that, for purposes of 
this paragraph, any reference in section 1128A of 
such Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7a) to the Secretary 
shall be deemed to be a reference to the Attorney 
General. 
SEC. 11. FEDERAL INJUNCTIVE AUTHORITY. 
In addition to any other enforcement authority con-
ferred under this Act or the amendments made by this 
Act, the Federal Government shall have injunctive author-
ity with respect to any violation by a public entity of any 
provision of this Act or of any amendments made by this 
Act.
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