Hendrickson CtC scam forum re-opened

[The Observer]

Am I wrong in thinking that an SSN is being shown on that check? If so, Hendrickson really messed up by not redacting that check; and what liability would CNN or the advertiser have for publishing it?

[Dark Optimist]

And the date looks like its from 2004 - have there been no "winners" more recently than that?

[KickahaOta]

None of the numbers on the check look like an SSN. The one in the upper right corner has eight digits, not nine.

[notorial dissent]

None of the numbers on the check look like an SSN. The one in the upper right corner has eight digits, not nine.

They don't put SSN's on checks.

[The Observer]

None of the numbers on the check look like an SSN. The one in the upper right corner has eight digits, not nine.

I wasn't looking at the numbers in the upper right corner. I am looking at an entirely different set of numbers that would have the proper amount of digits.

They don't put SSN's on checks.

The date of the check is from 2004, which was long before the identity theft crisis blew up. I believe that SSNs were included on refund checks at that time.

[KickahaOta]

Oh, you mean the nine-digit number at the top of the check? I can't find any documentation of what that is; but there are oodles of images of Treasury checks on the net, many with personal information heavily redacted, and I could only find one (out of hundreds) that blocked out that number. So either a huge number of people are profoundly stupid, or that number isn't an SSN. As a person who is sometimes accused of being profoundly stupid, I make no claims as to which is true.

But I digress.

[The Observer]

Oh, you mean the nine-digit number at the top of the check?

No, that series of numbers has commas, which would be a strange way of rendering an SSN. I am looking at another set of numbers.

[KickahaOta]

No, that series of numbers has commas, which would be a strange way of rendering an SSN. I am looking at another set of numbers.

Hmm. Well, this is a digression from the topic anyway, so I'm going to stop staring at checks and go get myself mildly drunk.

[Famspear]

I have a document showing Hendrickson's SSN, because his number was inadvertently published years ago. None of the numbers on the check are his SSN.

[The Observer]

Ok, thanks for verifying that, Famspear. I was aware of his SSN being exposed before, but I did not retain that information. I was thinking the check above might have been that particular culprit.