ULPT request. Found social security card with my name but different number.
Posted by NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit | UnethicalLifeProTips | View on Reddit | 69 comments
*This is a repost from my other account*
When I was around 19, I found a social security card with my exact full name but a completely different number when I was at my moms house. I was in a hurry and thought it was slightly weird, so I placed it on the counter but didn't think much about it until later that night... I started to realize just how odd that was so I went back to her house to grab it and ask questions. She vehemently denied its existence and still does to this day.
Since then I have speculated wildly about what it could mean. I looked up reasons why someone would be issued a new number and it's incredibly rare. Were my parents running a scam? Was I in danger as a child? ( I also have a large permanent bump on my head that I've had my whole life and my mom said it was "trauma in the womb") Which sounds like total BS.
I have done some investigating but to no avail. I called the social security office and they said they couldn't look it up unless I had the full number. I called the hospital where I was born but in 1987 they had paper records which they threw out after 10 years. I have also RIPPED apart my moms house when she was out of town but found nothing.
Hoping someone can give advice on how to get to the bottom of this.
i-am-foxymoron@reddit
What hospital throws out records after 10 years, especially a newborn baby? I could possibly understand someone that is deceased (even that seems unlikely).
ConflictedCoffeeBean@reddit
Wood County Hospital in Bowling Green, Ohio throws them out after five years. All records. Any age.
I will keep that grudge until I die. Those assholes kept running me around in circles for years until they admitted it.
Hopefully they handle data better now, but a bit over a decade ago they certainly did not.
i-am-foxymoron@reddit
That's crazy. As a Veterinarian we kept records longer than some human hospitals.
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
That's what I said! It was the 80's/90's but still.
hivernageprofond@reddit
Yes, like others have said go to your states website to get a copy of your birth certificate. It will forever be on file.
zillabirdblue@reddit
The hospital may not have it, but there should be an archive somewhere.
FionaTheFierce@reddit
Birth certificates are not held by the hospital. They go to the vital records dept in your city/state/county.
If you are asking for medical records from the 1980s or 1990s the hospital will most likely not have kept those.
bd82001@reddit
Check with your state vital records department or state archives. They keep these records forever.
DameLaChisme@reddit
My pediatrician's office notified us that the storage unit onsite was not paid and the contents removed. All of her patients records up until 2012. We don't know if they were properly destroyed. I am glad I got copies of my kids medical records the year prior! It happens. This was a USC-affiliated hospital, too!!! You would think they have tight protocols. Not. Never say never.
MindYoSelfB@reddit
I think retention laws vary by state. Our might be 21 years.
i-am-foxymoron@reddit
TIL Hospitals keep adult records from 5 - 10 years (for non mental health or camcer treatment) and until a minor reaches 18 - 21 years old + statute of limitations.
PizzaSlingr@reddit
NAL and this isn't ULPT
Is there any possibility at all that she had a child before you born alive, even for just a moment? That could be a situation where you both have the same names and different numbers?
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
Jesus. That would be so creepy. I'm named after a little dead girl? I'm going to look up birth and death records. Thank you.
continualreboot@reddit
It would be more likely that both you and the little dead girl are named after someone in the family.
RudyB0312@reddit
This is actually the one that makes the most sense. And not creepy. I know someone (long story, but a dna test crazy story) After many years and 4 miscarriages, my friends parents finally had him, John. I always found it weird that all the previous (miscarried) children were all named John, after his father. Flash forward 55 years and after the death of both of his parents, he discovered by accident that his aunt was his birth mother and the mother that raised him was his aunt, and his father that raised him was of no biological relation. After knowing this... naming him John made total sense. His mother called him Johnny and I can totally envision her in my mind so happy that she finally got her baby Johnny! Something that actually started out seeming quite oddto me actually turned out to be one of the most loving stories.
OldGeekWeirdo@reddit
It happens in genealogy quite a bit with sons. If the son is named after the father, or a grandparent, but dies very young, then the next son gets the same name so the "name carries on".
sareuhbelle@reddit
Report back!
PizzaSlingr@reddit
definitely hope OP reports back, I am invested now.
!UpdateMe
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
Left an update!
musicissweeter@reddit
Where? I don't think I can sleep before I know!
PizzaSlingr@reddit
Look at the end of her original post above! Crazy!
musicissweeter@reddit
Thank you! What! Of all the things I couldn't have guessed!
PizzaSlingr@reddit
Yw! I’m a Boomer Dad so just tried to think WHY your mom reacted so badly to this. I wish you peace and a great life!
PizzaSlingr@reddit
HOLY COW that is crazy!
PizzaSlingr@reddit
I really hope I am wrong but it's right where my mind went to.
diablodeldragoon@reddit
Why would anyone request a ss# for a deceased child? It's not an automatic process, the parents have to send in paperwork and that's usually done several weeks after birth. A ss# has zero purpose if the infant passes though. You don't even actually need one until they're like age one. You can use moms until then iirc.
ImaPhillyGirl@reddit
You can claim a deceased dependent child, including an infant, as a dependent for the year so long as they lived with you for the time they were alive. ie: My son was born in Jan, died in May. I had a ssn for him and claimed him for the year. My son lived 4 months but so long as they took a breath they can be claimed for the year.
gooeyjello@reddit
I'm so sorry
PizzaSlingr@reddit
A baby born alive, even for a minute would be counted as a dependent for tax purposes. A SSN would be required for that. There are credits the parents could claim (CTC, EIC, etc)
The baby is considered to have lived with the parents the entire tax year, since the 6 months residency would be waived.
diablodeldragoon@reddit
I never considered the tax purposes. That's kinda horrible to even consider. But, knowing that insurance is going to hit those parents with outlandish hospital bills, plus the funeral costs. The tax return would be helpful
PizzaSlingr@reddit
Please know...I felt horrible writing that reply. But I am a Boomer Dad and I approached OP's situation focused on "WHY would her mother have THAT reaction?" I grew up in an era where some family things....just weren't known or talked about. All I could come up with was what I posited. OP says it's basically right except the baby was born after her.
It's truly sick that one has to write a name and SSN on a form...to pay for the tragic aftermath.
diablodeldragoon@reddit
That's fair! As a parent, I knew that you didn't actually need a ss# for about the first year for things like dr visits, etc I haven't been in a situation to discover when you would use it sooner. Our system is truly awful in so many instances!
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
My guess would be the child lived for a while... maybe SIDS?
i-am-foxymoron@reddit
You should get an AncestryDNA test done.
Creepy_old_man_in_IL@reddit
ULPT - use that SSN to apply for loans and credit cards. It is not you, as evidenced by your SSN being different!
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
I thought about that!! But I can't remember the alternate one. I only saw it for a few minutes.
Flight_Fan2287@reddit
Please post this in r/OSIN, OP.
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
I tried but it said it doesn't allow investigations
cascasrevolution@reddit
the r/RBI should be able to help
Zestyclose_Custard93@reddit
Tell use the deets after you figure it all out and good luck
WitchBitch8008@reddit
That sounds like it could be a witness protection thing tbh
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
I thought that but I have a huge extended family. It doesn't seem likely.
Nunov_DAbov@reddit
The social security number of deceased people is released by SSA. You could search to see if there is a dead person with your name that has a matching SSAN to the partial you know.
alexkunk@reddit
This is crimepodcast worthy for sure
DontGetEatenByAGrue@reddit
Were you born before or after August 1987? Before that SSN wasn’t issued at birth. (I’m older, and mine wasn’t issued until it needed to be. A sibling several years younger than me has a number 1 digit off from mine bc same issue date)
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
October 87
DontGetEatenByAGrue@reddit
So…it should have been issued at birth. I’d be looking for other records using that number… How did you find the card the first time? Was it hidden or just laying around?
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
It was in a file drawer. I was looking for mine and found it.
hivernageprofond@reddit
Honestly I'd tell her you're going to involve the police or fbi then maybe she'll fess up? It's very concerning and that's the direction I'd really go in, contacting state authorities.
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
I might just do this. Good advice.
ferretkona@reddit
Updateme!
mister-ferguson@reddit
A lot of times when children are adopted they get a new SSN. Might you have been adopted?
SirWarm6963@reddit
Create an account for yourself online at ssa.gov to make sure your correct number is affiliated to your legal name and see that your work history is correct there. Do not let your mother know your account log on information. Then lock your credit through the credit bureaus.
musicissweeter@reddit
This is absolutely crazy! Just a thought: could tye bump on your head be somehow related to the demise of your sibling? Like, could it have been an accident both of you were in?
Also, why did your mother have your sibling's ID out after 17 years?
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
Thats definitely a possibility. It wasn't out, it was in the file drawer.
KristyKrispito@reddit
Have you already been to the social security office? Request a copy of your card. Start there.
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
I called them. They can't help me bc I don't have the missing number
CarrieNoir@reddit
Updateme!
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
Updated!
ACynicalOptomist@reddit
I think the comments about a baby dying and you being named after that baby is probably the most likely. It's possible that they were abusive and the child died because of the bump on your head being unexplained. There's no way that the baby could get a bump on their head in the womb without it dying.
ironicmirror@reddit
No real ULPT here, but possibility
Your mom was in witness protection when you were a baby
Your mom tried to hide you from her abusive spouse.
You were named after there first baby who died a few days after child birth.
It was 19 years ago and you did not find a card, but had a vivid dream about doing that.
MindYoSelfB@reddit
OP, you didn’t state your age. Have you not needed to use your SS number until now?
NotEnoughRocks1977@reddit (OP)
I'm 38. Yes I've used it many times since then. I don't understand the question. The card that went missing was the one with the alternate number.
MindYoSelfB@reddit
I misunderstood, my apologies.
Snoo-26768@reddit
This actually happened to me... I was assigned two SSNs with two different DOB, like 5 days apart or something like that. My mother actually used to work for SS so she had the incorrect one invalidated. Many years later, I actually found it (she never throws stuff away) and tried to "use" it but there was no record of me with that SSN. I HOPE that it might be something this simple for OP and not anything nefarious like some have suggested.
MacintoshEddie@reddit
Could be a scam like some kind of identity theft or fraud, but could also be the case where you had a sibling that died young, possibly before your own birth, and when your parents had another child they used the same name for you.
In some families it's a whole tradition to pass on the name to the eldest child.
Lucky_Librarian_4572@reddit
ULPT: use your baby book or old health records to try and get medical notes from your childhood- unexpected information can show up in doctor notes. Work backwards from your parents professional and personal lives to find family and friends that knew them around your birth / childhood and ask them questions about yourself and parents.
tree_beard_8675301@reddit
1) Do a credit report on yourself to see if anything odd is tied to you. Use all three agencies (Equifax, Experian, TransUnion.) 2) Freeze your credit as a precaution. 3) Contact the county where you were born for a copy of your birth certificate.
I’m not sure how to go further, but I bet r/genealogy or similar would be able to tell you where to search for someone with your exact name. Maybe ask relatives or family friends? After that, maybe a private detective?
the_honest_liar@reddit
I know they won't look up the mystery number, but check with the social insurance office if all your info tied to your current number matches your personal info, and if they can see if it was a reissued number or if a number was since reissued.
Do you have enough info to file a credit check on the mystery number? You could see if it had history.
Maybe an identity fraud report with the police? See if they can check from their side.