Really, this is 2011 and major sites are still playing games with identity theft.

I came across a notable HR/insurance web site that tries to  request social security numbers.

Seriously, don’t you think the business could get the social security number after the fact – like if someone wants to show any interest in the company’s services.

I imagine the site used to have proper security that just lapsed. The copy before the form says it “will be sent over the Internet encrypted and securely.”

No, not today.

Even when the security works securely (I’ll point it out to them), I doubt they’ll remove the social security request. It’s not one of the required fields. At least the you can skip it if you want to – as everyone should.