BK Court put my entire SS # out there

[Goldfish]

[Sorry, for duplicate; I wanted this under Chpt 7]

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I'm very concerned, and about ready to head off to Public Counsel and BK Court to re-submit forms.

But I do see that on the official Form 9A (which the BK court fills out) that in the box which says "last four digits of SS #" they put my entire SS #.

All of my forms are correct. On Form B21 where they ask for last four digits, I carefully put " xxx-xx-... " Below that under item 1, they ask "debtor has a SS # and it is...." wherein I put my entire #.


This is an absolute outrage.

They have notified everyone of my entire SS # even though my forms are totally correctly filled in.

I am tempted to agree with this BK lawyer I met -- this is a creditor's court.

So, I'm nearly about to head out to give them the stupid forms they made me re-submit [because the form said "12/07 and the lastest form says "4/10"]
But now they are screwing with me on my SS #.

Yes, I'm really upset. I'm going to leave soon. Is this stuff now permanently out there? Do I have to get a new SS #. ? Is it possible to sue them?

I ask for your input before I leave to go meet these people for anything you can advise me to do or say. gf.

[Flamingo]

Up until just about five or so years ago, you could go into the BK filings online via the court's or state's website and view everyone's SS and filings. This was still going on in 2002 when we filed and I about had a cow when I saw that. With all the identify theft and other privacy issues and laws since that time, that information is no longer accessible and SS numbers blocked out or in partial form. Not too many people in bankruptcy have to worry about their ID being stolen for credit because no one is going to get any credit or be able to use that identity for anything major at least for several years. Your risk is probably minimal. If you are highly concerned, you can put a block on your credit reports for a while so no one can apply for or obtain credit with your SS# - you would have to be contacted first. I think your worries are minimal but there are steps you can take to ease your mind.

[BKDefender]

Goldfish - contact the Clerk of the Court at your bankruptcy court and make them aware of this. Tell them that you want your first five of your social security number redacted immediately from those documents. If a creditor did this, then you have possible claims for sanctions for violating the bankruptcy rule 9037.

If the clerk won't do it without a motion, then file a Motion to Strike. it would basically say:
"Debtor John Doe ('Movant') respectfully requests:
1. That the debtor's full social security number was disclosed in document # X on the docket.
2. That such disclosure is a violation of the privacy protections provided under Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure Rule 9037.
3. That this disclosure has and continues to harm Debtor."

WHEREFORE, the Movant respectfully requests that document # X be stricken and replaced with an amended document that only discloses the last four digits of Debtor's social security number as required by the above Rule 9037."

Something like that.

--William

[Goldfish]

Thank you Flamingo & BK defender so very much,

I want to apprise you and everyone else about how this worked out.

Here in LA, they print your whole SS# on 'your copy' of that form. That SS# is available to all within the LA court system.
But when I checked with Public Counsel (the pro bono place, self-help desk) and they looked up my case on PACER, the SS# showed xxx-xx-... So, apparently, the computer software took it off automatically. I had them check this at the BK filing office as well.

I'm very happy to have learned this. Very happy one fewer battle to fight.

So, I guess, what I learned is two-fold.
First, don't freak out should you see your SS# on your own BK form.
Second, I need to get access to PACER to see what they are really doing.

gf

[BKDefender]

What you saw was the form for the declaration concerning your social security number. That form is submitted under lock and key and only court staff and employees have access to it - other attorneys and anyone with PACER access do not.

In fact, at 341 meetings I have to provide original signed copies of this form to the trustees and I keep a high quality color laser copy for my records.

The reason they have that form now is what Flamingo said - you used to be able to view someone's bankruptcy case, get their social security number, the address, etc, and go out and apply for credit cards. It wasn't considered much of a risk because, of course, the person had just filed bankruptcy. But with online PACER access, one could access cases 5-6 years old, where the person's credit had recovered, and you could go to town on someone else's dime.

Glad it wasn't a real problem :-)

--William