What your Social Security Number tells about you!!!

What your Social Security Number tells about you!

Your social security number is a unique identification. You are the only person who has that number. But did you ever wonder what the numbers in your social security number mean? This report will tell you exactly what those numbers tell about you, and how to effectively use social security numbers as a means of identifying your customers.

Your social security number is made up of 3 parts called the AREA (XXX), GROUP (XX), and SERIAL(XXXX). I'll explain these parts separately. First, the AREA (XXX) has one of two meanings, depending on when you got your number. If you received your social security card before 1972, the area number shows what state you APPLIED for your card in. If you received your social security card after 1972, the area number shows the state you RESIDED in at the time you applied. Here is a list of the number combinations and their corresponding states.

000 NONE	318-361 IL	521-524 CO
001-003 NH	387-399 WI	525NM
004-007 ME	400-407 KY	528-529 UT
008-009 VT	408-415 TN	530-NV
010-034 MA	416-424 AL	531-539 WA
035-039 RI	425-428 MS	540-544 OR
040-049 CT	429-432 AR	545-573 CA
050-134 NY	433-439 LA	574-AK
135-158 NJ	440-448 OK	575-576 HI
159-211 PA	449-467 TX	577-579 DC
212-220 MD	468-477 MN	580 VI (Virgin Islands)
221-222 DE	478-485 IA	581-584 PR (Puerto Rico)
223-231VA	486-500 MO	585-NM
232-236 WV	501-502 ND	586PI (Pacific Islands - Guam)
237-246 NC	503-504 SD	587-588 MS
247-251 SC	505-508 NE	589-595 FL
252-260 GA	509-515 KS	596-599 PR (Puerto Rico)
261-267 FL	516-517 MT	600-601 AZ
268-302 OH	518-519 ID	602-626 CA
303-317 IN	520 WY

900-999 Were used when state aid to the aged, blind, and disable was converted to federal programs administered by the Social Security Association, not valid social security numbers.You will see that some states have more than one group of numbers. This is because their original group of numbers became exhausted.

The GROUP (XX) has no meaning other than to determine whether or not a number has been assigned. This is important to know, if you want to use social security numbers as identification for your customers. Here's how you should use this information.

Every month, the Social Security Association publishes a list of the highest group assigned for each AREA. The order of assignment is odd numbers under 10, even numbers over 9, even numbers under 9 (except for 00, which is not used), and odd numbers over 10. So, for example, if the highest GROUPassigned for AREA 999 is 72, then a customer who gives you the social security number 999-04-1234 is a fraud, because even GROUPS under 9 have not yet been assigned.

The SERIAL (XXXX) portion has no meaning and is not assigned in strict numerical order. 0000 is never used. If you know what to look for, social security numbers are an important tool for screening customers.