I'm up in Canada and we have the same problem with SSN .... as a kid one of my uncles told me that the SSN is only for government use and nothing else ... he explained that even banks shouldn't ask for it as it is not required. He helped me set up my first bank account when I was 15 and he insisted and fought with the bank branch that SSN were not required. After a bit of back and forth, they finally agreed and I got my first bank account ... which I've kept ever since over 30 years ago. And in all that time, I've protected my SSN from banks and credit services. Because I was able to start that first account, I could start new ones and grow from there.

Best part was ... about ten years after that, I got my first Credit Card and the form the bank gave asked me to verify my information ... INCLUDING MY FULL SSN WHICH THEY HAD IN THEIR RECORDS.

The privacy and security of these dumb SSN cards and numbers is a joke.