AAFES may stop requiring
that Social
Security numbers be put on checksBy Jan Wesner Childs
Okinawa bureau
CAMP FOSTER
— Customers at Army and Air Force Exchange Service stores would no longer be required
to write their Social Security numbers on checks under a new policy being considered by
AAFES.
The retail
service is testing the policy at five bases in the United States. The new rule could
expand to AAFES stores worldwide this spring, said Master Sgt. Howard Smith, a spokesman
for AAFES Pacific headquarters on Okinawa.
"At
AAFES, we recognize our customers’ concern with having Social Security numbers
written on checks, and we’re working hard to eliminate that requirement," Smith
said.
Opponents
of using Social Security numbers for broad identification purposes contend that it is an
invasion of privacy. Also, the proliferation of purchases made through the Internet has
made it easier to steal or sell Social Security numbers.
Several
bills have been introduced in Congress to restrict use and distribution of Social Security
numbers for identification.
Under the
new AAFES rule, cashiers look at a customer’s identification card and type the Social
Security number into the cash register, rather than taking the number from the check.
Also, the
new system uses the Social Security number of the person writing the check, rather than
that of the military sponsor as is done under the old policy.
Policies on
Social Security numbers on checks vary among the agencies that operate base retail
facilities.
Jeff
Dougall, manager of the Navy Exchange at Yokosuka Naval Base near Tokyo, said the NEX does
not require that customers write their Social Security numbers on checks if they
don’t want to.
The Marine
Corps Exchange at Iwakuni Marine Corps Air Station, the only overseas MCX, does require
the numbers from customers when they cash checks, said Capt. Jeff Sammons, a base
spokesman.
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