Prompt Cast
The Problems and Consequences of Incorrect Death Listings and False Death Reports
TLDR Social security numbers were originally created for retirement benefits but are now used for various purposes, leading to identity fraud and hacking. The Social Security Administration's Death Master File has an error rate of 0.41%, causing tens of thousands of people to be mistakenly listed as deceased each year, resulting in financial and personal hardships.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
Social security numbers were originally created to track lifetime earnings and determine retirement benefits, but have since been used for other purposes such as getting a passport or opening a bank account.
04:11
Social security numbers have become an identifier and authenticator, which has led to companies being hacked and people's information being compromised, making it difficult to navigate modern life without giving out your social security number.
08:19
The Death Master File is a list of deceased individuals in America that serves as a storehouse for all the people who have been dead since the 60s, but it is not perfect and there are tens of thousands of people on the list who should not be on it.
12:40
In an investigation, it was found that almost 32,000 living people were listed as deceased in the Death Master File, causing them various problems and inconveniences.
17:33
The Social Security Administration's Death Master File has an error rate of 0.41%, resulting in tens of thousands of people being mistakenly listed as deceased each year, causing problems when they try to obtain credit and potentially leading to identity fraud.
22:20
The Social Security Administration does not enforce the requirement for subscribers to keep their death lists up to date, making it difficult for individuals to correct their status as deceased and resulting in numerous horror stories of frozen bank accounts, denied loans, and other financial and personal hardships.
26:28
The Social Security Administration is attempting to correct the issue of incorrect death listings by using other government databases to verify if older Americans are still alive, but this has led to the clearing out of records for 5 million Americans whose deaths were reported by state databases, resulting in 11 million dead people who aren't listed as deceased.
30:31
In India, people can be falsely listed as dead on paper in order to claim their property legally, sometimes through bribery.
35:22
In the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, a man named Lal Bahari was listed as dead by his uncle's family in order to claim his land, and it took him 17 years to prove that he was alive.
39:50
Some hospitals have programs that cover all charges for sexual assault victims and provide vouchers for follow-up care, in order to alleviate any unnecessary burden from the patients.
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Society & Culture
