SSN's are only a small part of the problem. Identity thieves do not always even need a SSN. The 9/11 terrorists had no need of SSN's to steal the identities for the 50 driver's licenses they carried from five states. Liam Yoens didn't need Amy Boyer's SSN number but only found it by accident. What he was looking for was where she worked.

A SSN is not needed to file a bogus release or even a bogus title. The SSN can be a key but two or three other identifiers will often serve the purpose just as well. Indeed the most dangerous identifier in the public records is the one that each of us uses to identify and authenticate ourselves. Our signatures can only be stolen once digitized.

The public records held at the county courthouse were placed there in trust by the people of the community. They placed them there so they could be viewed by anyone with a compelling reason to go to the courthouse and find the information needed for transfer of their property. They had every reasonable expectation that these records would remain in the control of the local jurisdiction. They did not give their consent to these records being published in the Bombay Times, Abuja City Scam School News, or the World Wide Webb.