ID Theft

Is it possible for an American Social Security number to be identical to a Canadian Social Insurance number?

Apparently, I was the victim of identity theft. However, I was informed that it was not theft, but a mix-up in the system. Someone in Canada with my social applied for credit. It was ran in the U.S. system, rather than the Canadian. I would like to know if this is true, or if someone is blowing smoke up my...

Public Comments

1. i really think someone is just playing around. i don't think there is anyway that can to be.
2. Both countries have nine number system but the canadian is presented this way XXX-XXX-XXX instead of the american way XXX-XX-XXXX. Nine numbers gives one billion possibilities but I guess its possible to get duplicate numbers. However I find it hard to believe that someone use a canadian number in the american system. For example, Visa Canada and Visa USA is two completely different companies and they can't view the credit history from the other country. So I guess the explanation is possible but I'm still a bit skeptical about it...
3. Well, I guess it would make sense that such a thing COULD happen, given that the US Social Security numbers and the Canadian Social Insurance numbers are both 9 digits. The Canadian cards are numbered in this format: xxx xxx xxx And, of course, the US cards are numbered like this: xxx xx xxxx but that doesn't mean the particular pattern of numbers couldn't be the same. The numbers are not randomly selected - for example, in Canada, the first number indicates the province in which the individual registered for the card: 1= New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Labrador, Nova Scotia or PEI 2= Quebec 3= Quebec 4= Ontario 5= Ontario 6= Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, NW Territories, Nunavut 7= British Columbia, Yukon 8= Not used 9= Temporary cards In the US, the process is more complicated - it started out fairly simple, but the vast numbers of cards that have been issued have wreaked havoc on the system. Prior to 1972, the first 3 numbers on your card were determined by where you applied for the card, since 1972, the first three numbers indicate where you resided at the time you applied for the card. As numbers are "used up", the Administration assigns a new set of numbers to an area, so we could both be from the same place, yet my SSN might start with 111 and yours starts with 595. The middle 2 numbers in an American SSN are a "group number" and the last 4 numbers are a "serial number". Long answer to a simple question - but yes, it is feasibly possible for your SSN to be exactly the same as a Canadian SIN.