This is the reality in other countries. In Sweden, our “SSN” is our date of birth followed by four numbers that have different meanings depending on when you were born. During the period I was born it was an area code, and a binary of male/female and a control number. This has changed over time to not be exactly the same for newer generations. All of this information is available publicly to search for through our version of the IRS that then trickles out to various private companies that just publish it out right.

I personally have a dislike for this system, as I am a major privacy enjoyer. But people can’t really do anything with the information if they had it. If someone looks up my name and SSN, they have it, but can’t bring me harm.