They said it couldn't be done. But three months after KPIX 5 ConsumerWatch reported that the state's unemployment agency was putting millions at risk for identity theft, the California Employment Development Department (EDD) has had a change of heart.
Most people know that their social security number is the key to their identity. Security experts advise that you protect it at all costs. However, ConsumerWatch reporter Julie Watts discovered that one state agency is putting millions of social security numbers at risk despite state laws intended to protect it.
One of the nation's largest state agencies says it is finally removing Social Security numbers from a document mailed every two weeks to millions of Californians—years after it told CBS13 and lawmakers it had already removed the numbers.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle are demanding the Employment Development Department make changes immediately following a KPIX 5 report that revealed the state is printing full social security numbers on documents being mailed – putting millions at risk for identity theft.
Citing our reporting, lawmakers passed a bill that will force the Employment Development Department to stop putting people at risk of identity theft by mailing full Social Security numbers, a practice that is already against the law.