New Service "Civic" Alerts You When Someone Uses Your SSN

[Godlygamer23]

A few days ago, Wired posted an article about a new service called Civic that allows you to have a notification sent to you whenever someone uses your social security number. The service identifies itself as an "identity protection network" and is currently in beta. The idea behind this is that whenever someone uses your SSN for whatever reason, you will get some sort of push notification to your connected device(with the application installed).

 

Vinny Lingham, CEO and co-founder of Civic, had this to say:

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We think the way you secure information is not by keeping information private, it's about not being able to follow its use.

Civic as a service is free and upon creation and activation of your account, you will also receive a $1 million dollar identity theft insurance for as long as you use the app. Additionally, they have an always-open help line if you do get into an identity theft situation. Something else to note is that if the company that dealt with the fraud pays to partner with Civic, you will have the option to completely cancel the transaction.

 

Lingham also stated this:

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At the end of the day, the companies are losing money[.] When an ID thief walks out of the store with a new laptop computer, the company has lost money. The insurance may pay out, but the premiums go up more and more." Lingham has also apparently stated that it "can take years for their information to surface on the dark web." According to Wired's source, MySpace had a hack from 2013 become visible, where 360 million accounts hit the black market.

 

Wired also makes a good point about the use of the service:

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There’s also the matter of Civic’s security. A service that collects people’s Social Security numbers to protect them from hacks surely becomes a prime target for those very hackers. Lingham says Civic uses “best in breed security practices,” including a hashing algorithm to obscure actual digits. Here, too, Lingham urges patience, promising a “quantum leap” in data security is coming through the pipeline.

 

If Civic can keep their security in check, and not be stupid like other companies, or even regular websites, then I think they might be able to pull this off. But, they better bear in mind that hackers will want that information, and will try every angle to get it.

 

Source: https://www.wired.com/2016/07/new-service-alerts-social-security-numbers-used/

Edited July 22, 2016 by Godlygamer23
Post is fixed. I think.

[theninja35]

So I have to give them my Social Security Number?

 

Wow, what could ever go wrong?

 

[Yog]

The government should be providing this service. They issue the numbers; they should have to curate them. Or at least provide us a way to keep track of them ourselves.

[Energycore]

“quantum leap”

 

I find that funny as a metaphor for big breakthrough, because an electron's quantum leaps are very small

[NumLock21]

At first, I thought it was Honda.

Hey it's believable, when they not only make cars, but also air planes and lawn mowers.

 

[Godlygamer23]

17 minutes ago, huilun02 said:

What is the business model might I ask?

This is how they plan to make money:

Civic is free, and if you sign up you get $1 million of identity theft insurance for as long as you use the app. There’s an always-open help line if you get in an identity theft quagmire. And if the company where the fraud occurred pays to partner with Civic, you’ll have the option to cancel transactions before they go through. That last part is how Civic is planning to pay its bills.

[dalekphalm]

6 hours ago, Godlygamer23 said:

This is how they plan to make money:

 

 

So if I understand this correctly,

 

Civic detects a fraudulent transaction taking place at Best Buy. Best Buy will pay Civic for detecting this, and allowing it's prevention?

 

And simultaneously, you'll be alerted of said transaction within the Civic App, and you can cancel the transaction, assuming it's not actually you.

 

How does it work if it turns out to be a legit transaction? I assume Best Buy (or whoever) will only pay Civic if the transaction is fraudulent, and only if you cancel it through the app?

[Me1z]

How exactly will civic be alerted to the SSN being used? Under what authority does all SSN usage need to be reported to them? If it was a government agency doing this it would be one thing, but I fail to understand how a private organization will have access to any of this information.

[goodtofufriday]

6 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

So if I understand this correctly,

 

Civic detects a fraudulent transaction taking place at Best Buy. Best Buy will pay Civic for detecting this, and allowing it's prevention?

 

And simultaneously, you'll be alerted of said transaction within the Civic App, and you can cancel the transaction, assuming it's not actually you.

 

How does it work if it turns out to be a legit transaction? I assume Best Buy (or whoever) will only pay Civic if the transaction is fraudulent, and only if you cancel it through the app?

Quote

you’ll have the option to cancel transactions before they go through.

I understood it as that you will be the one paying to have the transaction canceled. 

[dalekphalm]

13 minutes ago, goodtofufriday said:

I understood it as that you will be the one paying to have the transaction canceled. 

That almost seems like extortion... And if you cannot afford to pay the cancellation fee? Those are the ones who are at most vulnerable.

 

I would be much happier if this were a government agency or program that has independent oversight.

[Centurius]

7 hours ago, dalekphalm said:

So if I understand this correctly,

 

Civic detects a fraudulent transaction taking place at Best Buy. Best Buy will pay Civic for detecting this, and allowing it's prevention?

 

And simultaneously, you'll be alerted of said transaction within the Civic App, and you can cancel the transaction, assuming it's not actually you.

 

How does it work if it turns out to be a legit transaction? I assume Best Buy (or whoever) will only pay Civic if the transaction is fraudulent, and only if you cancel it through the app?

I feel the company, in this example Best Buy, pays Civic a certain amount as a subscription fee for unlimited look-ups. That way it can still be profitable for Best Buy and Civic gets a consistent revenue stream.