Is the end of Social Security numbers at hand?

The Wall Street Journal (online registration required):  We’ve all been warned not to use the same password for email, Facebook, and Amazon. But that is exactly what every American does when it comes to our financial lives. We rely on the same nine-digit password for everything from loans to taxes: Social Security numbers.

Having just one number is convenient, of course — especially to fraudsters. Right now attorneys general in Connecticut and Illinois are investigating a data breach at Experian EXPGY +2.21%  , one of the three major credit bureaus, that exposed the identification digits of more than 200 million Americans. To combat such crimes, experts say government agencies have begun to consider alternatives, including biometric scans.

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