The last time Michael Stollenwerk gave his Social Security number to somebody besides an employer or mortgage company was in 1999 to a utility company. Since then, he's become increasingly involved in privacy issues and has stopped giving out his most personal information.
When Stollenwerk signs up for discount cards at the supermarket, he uses a false name and address to fool marketers who might be tracking his purchases. When he received a membership at his video store, he left the Social Security-number box blank. And when he applied for a concealed weapon permit, he refused to give the state his Social Security number.
"I got the permit, and then apparently the state police tried to take that away from me," Stollenwerk, a resident of Kingstowne, said. He took the state to court and won the right to keep his permit.
Stollenwerk also refuses to say where he works and to have his picture taken.
"I don't see why a photo even needs to be on a driver's license," he said.
STOLLENWERK HAS taken his activism to a more local level by organizing a Fairfax County group of privacy advocates. So far, the group has had one meeting, at which four people showed up. One of Stollenwerk's aims, he said, is to inform people that just because a box is provided for Social Security numbers on forms, they don't always have to fill it out.
"The overuse of Social Security numbers is the root cause of problems with identity theft," he said.
Stollenwerk is particularly concerned about those numbers ending up on the Internet. When clerks of the court across Virginia are putting land records — many of which include Social Security numbers — on the Internet, there is a risk of people using those numbers to commit identity theft, he said. Although land deeds documents with Social Security numbers have been a part of the public record for a long time, they were harder to get hold of when people had to go to the courthouse and look up the documents themselves, Stollenwerk said.
With the Internet, Stollenwerk said, "you are basically bringing a problem that was sort festering suddenly to light."
Other jurisdictions may put all the information right on the Internet, but Fairfax County has been placing restrictions on who can see the documents online since 1988, said Clerk of the Court John Frey. People who want to see the records have to sign up with the county, pay a monthly fee of $20 and use a static IP address, which means that the documents can be accessed from only one computer.
"We've tried to balance the privacy interests of the citizens with the legitimate business needs of businesses and ultimately the citizens," Frey said. "They're freely available to the world in paper, and they're not freely available to the world on a subscriber site. There's actually more limitation."
Stollenwerk is not convinced.
"Now what we have is pay-per-view to see your private data."
Putting the records online allows title companies, mortgage lenders and other businesses to process a loan application very quickly, said Frey, which makes it possible, for instance, to get a loan on the spot at car dealerships, or to refinance a house virtually overnight.
"We have in this country unparalleled access to credit," said Frey. "That access to credit begins with the land records and to know whether or not somebody is worth doing business with."
But security has been a concern, said Frey. In fact, it is rare to see Social Security numbers on new records.
But the numbers remain on the old records, noted Frey. "I don't have the money or the staff to go through every document and redact them."
With over 20 million documents on file, it would take millions of dollars to go through every one, said Del. Jeannemarie Devolites (R-35th), who heads a General Assembly subcommittee looking at privacy issues.
"I think this issue is turning out to be a money issue," she said. "And at this time, when we're in a budget crisis, there are no additional dollars."
So far, Devolites said, no cases of identity theft have been reported based on information from court Web sites.
The General Assembly last year passed a bill that requires jurisdictions to impose limits on who can see public documents online. Like Fairfax, the entire state will have to provide access on a secure Web site, said state Sen. James O'Brien (R-39th).
"It's an interesting issue because it exposes a lot of business or government issues as we're in the technology age," he said.
AT THE SAME TIME, Stollenwerk has turned his attention to the county's practice of providing home-assessment information online. Right now, the name and address of a homeowner are accessible along with the assessed value of the home.
"It's very Orwellian," he said. "You could be driving by somebody's house and see some young girl go into the house and type in the address, and boom, you get up the name of the owner or owners. That's just kind of bizarre."
But citizens can ask not to have their personal information posted online. After being contacted by Stollenwerk, Supervisor Dana Kauffman (D-Lee) recently guided a motion through the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors that would include a reminder of the opportunity to opt out with the assessment notice.
"When we initially put the program in place, there was a significant interest in not having names in," Kauffman said. "Then it tapered off, and I just wanted to be sure that that tapering off wasn't because people weren't aware they didn't have the option. I just want to make sure that people know their rights."