Consumer protection groups and law enforcement agencies have continuously warned the public about the dangers of Identity Theft. The three most important components of personal information sought are: Social Security number, Driver License Number and date of birth. According to the experts, possessing any two of these attributes is sufficient for a potential thief to commit credit card fraud, Medicare fraud, identity theft, fraudulent transfer of monetary funds and a multitude of other, unlawful transactions. Of course, the Internet has become a prolific venue for this activity.

The public should be aware, many banks contribute to this process. For example, let us say an Individual issues a personal check to you. When that individual is not a member of your Bank, it is prudent for you to cash the check at that individual’s bank to ensure collection of funds. Assuming you are not a member of that individual’s bank, you are required to supply your Driver License to the teller. The teller will write your driver license number on the front of the check. At the end of the day, the bank photocopies and processes the check. Within a few days, the photocopy of the check is transferred, via the Internet and appears in the bank account record for the individual who wrote the check. This individual can view their account information over the Internet. Now, that individual has your driver license number. Depending upon the bank, the individual may also have a photocopy of your signature and/or other data.

I think financial institutions have a right to some identifying information when an individual cashes a check at an institution they are not a member of, however, that information should not be released to the public.