The Social Security Administration (SSA), via the NTIS, maintains a Death Master File (DMF) comprised of more than 83 million death records, which include social security numbers, names, birth dates, death dates, states, countries and zip codes as available, and addresses to which final SSA payments, were sent. The DMF contains only records submitted to it, not records for every person who is deceased. This database allows government entities, financial, investigative and credit reporting agencies, and medical research and other industries to verify individual identities. The DMF is also used to prevent social security fraud and maintain compliance with the USA Patriot Act. The file is researchable via the Internet on a paid subscription basis, so that individuals who wish to research their genealogy may benefit.