What's it like to share your SSN with 50 people? Follow a victim's struggle


By Bob Sullivan


Jonathan Barnett is also Jose Cruz. And Jesus Ramirez. And Pilar Terrones, Pilar Sanchez, Esmeralda Gonzalez and dozens of other people, at least according to the nation’s identity system.

Barnett unintentionally shares his Social Security number with all those people – and probably many more – yet his credit report and Social Security earnings records are completely clean. That seeming contradiction is a big part of his harrowing identity nightmare.

Barnett’s predilection for assiduous recordkeeping offers a rare glimpse into the deeply flawed identity system used by the nation’s creditors and employers. It relies on the secrecy of SSNs. But Barnett’s number is hardly a secret; it’s the fraud connected to his identity that remains off limits, even to the victim.

“It's like I have a ghost out there,â€