I recently received the following email and I simply wanted to know if
there is any truth to this email at all. I know the there is a
breakdown of the SSN such as I believe that the first three digits on
a SSN detail region.

Can you give me a detail breakdown of the sequence of numbers.


I?m simply curious to see if there is any truth to this urban legend?

Here is a copy if the email?

Subject: SSN

Mine is Even

Is the 5th Digit of your Social Security Number ODD or EVEN?

Have you heard anything about Social Security numbers, African Americans
and the 5th digit of Social Security Numbers?

Supposedly, if you are an African American or a minority, 
the 5th digit in your SSN is EVEN.  If you are white it is ODD!

Ask this question to any of your friends that are Caucasian. 

Rumor has it, some companies are looking at potential
employees SSN to discriminate. 
 
Why not send this email to every African
American and Minority that you know! 

Mine was even, what's yours?

--TAVIS SMILEY

This is an urban legend.  The Social Security Administration has the
following statement on their website:

"Apparently due to the fact that the middle digits of the SSN are
referred to as the "group number," some people have misconstrued this
to mean that the "group number" refers to racial groupings. So a myth
goes around from time-to-time that encoded in a person's SSN is a key
to their race. This simply is not true.

As should be clear from the explanation of the SSN numbering scheme,
the "group number" refers only to the numerical groups 01-99. For
filing purposes, the "area numbers" are broken down into these
numerical subgroups. So, for example, for area numbers starting with
527 there would be 98 subgroups, one for every number starting with
527-01, and one for every number starting with 527-02, and so on. This
was done back in 1936 because in that era there were no computers and
all the records were stored in filing cabinets. The early program
administrators needed some way to organize the filing cabinets into
sub-groups, to make them more manageable, and this is the scheme they
came up with.

So the "group number" has nothing whatever to do with race."
(http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssnmyth.html)

You can read more abouth this myta at The Urban Legend Reference
Pages: http://www.snopes.com/business/taxes/blackssn.asp

I believe this should answer your question.  If not, please request an
answer clarification before you proceed to rate my answer.

---

Clarification of Answer by blazius-ga on 18 Aug 2005 01:21 PDT

I forgot to provide you with the requested breakdown of the SSN - this
is available at http://www.ssa.gov/history/ssn/geocard.html

Blazius Thanks for clearing this up for me and thank you again for the fast response

I am caucasian and my 5'th number is even. Guess that really doesn't work.