SOCIAL SECURITY NO. 666 HAS FAMILY SEEING RED.

Byline: Carol McGraw The Orange County Register

Eric and Maria Bessem gave their daughter Katrina the middle name Hope - as a symbol of Christian godliness.

The Social Security Administration has given Katrina the number 666 - the biblical mark of the beast.

"If it was a lottery number I could care less, but this is something that is very personal, something she will have for 85 years," said Maria Bessem, of Anaheim Hills. "According to the Bible, Christians are supposed to refuse the mark of the beast."

The 666 reference is found in Revelation 13:18.

The biblical prophecy tells of a beast with "two horns like a lamb" that arises from the earth, speaks like a dragon and causes every person to receive the mark on the forehead or on the right hand.

These days, the number may be offensive to many, or a public-relations boon to others. Either way, it's a gigantic headache for the Social Security Administration and other entities that issue identifying numbers - license plates, bank accounts, ZIP codes, phone numbers.

Some agencies have programmed their computers to avoid the number. Others, such as the Social Security Administration, have drawn a line in the sand.

The Bessems' headache began when they applied for a card for 10-month-old Katrina.

Maria Bessem, 30, is a pharmaceutical representative. Her husband, Eric, 31, is an electrician. They have one other child, Kelly. They all have "normal" Social Security numbers.

When Maria Bessem received the card, she immediately called the Social Security hot line to demand a new number. They refused.

"Everyone knows what that number means," she said. "Remember the movie 'The Omen' and how 666 was carved on Damien's head?"

Others agree.

"This is just another way the government tries to blow the socks off religious freedom," said Brad Dacus, regional coordinator of the Rutherford Institute, a civil-liberties organization specializing in religious freedom. "The government has an obligation under the Constitution to accommodate religious beliefs and practices of its citizens."

The Social Security Administration, however, believes it is on firm legal ground.

Before September 1994, card holders could change their numbers for religious, cultural or even superstitious reasons. Numbers containing 666 and 13 made up most such requests.

But in recent years, so many people requested new numbers that the agency changed its regulations, according to Lowell Kepke, regional Social Security spokesman in San Francisco.

"This change in our regulations does not discriminate on the basis of religion," Kepke said. "Our attorneys have determined that by not recognizing religion, culture or superstition as a basis for assigning a number, we would be treating all individuals equally."

Other organizations that hand out numbers, including the state Department of Motor Vehicles and Pacific Bell, say they try to accommodate their customers. The DMV tries to weed out any 666 numbers - or anything else that might be offensive - before license plates are handed out, said William Madison, DMV spokesman. However, there are sometimes slip-ups.

"If drivers do get 666 on a plate, they can exchange it free of charge." He notes that people don't seem to get as upset over driver's license numbers, but those, too, can be changed.

Likewise, offensive phone numbers can also be changed, says John Bretton, Pacific Bell spokesman, "as long as they don't do it every two months."

However, someone would probably have to live with 666 if it is a prefix, because that number refers to a switching station for a certain geographical area.

Part of northeast Anaheim has the 666 prefix. And Charles Tyler, owner of Tyler Lighting, has a double dose of it - 666-6660. He doesn't mind a bit.

"The phone company asked me if I wanted it," Tyler recalled. "They said no one else would take it."

Customers have had a variety of responses, ranging from Christians who say it is the devil's number to Asians who say six sixes are good luck.

"All I care is if they remember the number," Tyler said. "And they do."

Tyler, who grew up in the Baptist faith, said his parents are not so thrilled. "But they still call me anyway."

Even the Postal Service is not without its mark of the beast. A small portion of Orange has the ZIP code 92666.

But many people who live with 666 as a phone number or ZIP code say they would fight it if it were something more personal. For example, United Pentecostal Church of Orange has the 92666 ZIP code. Pastor Doug Wright sees it as an unpleasant "government organizational thing" that his church has to live with.

But he stressed that there is a big difference between having it merely as a ZIP code and having 666 as a personal identifier: "As a Christian that would not only be embarrassing, but cause much anguish because it's more like the biblical personal mark."

The Bessems have decided to seek legal help. Eric Bessem said, "I'm not a religious fanatic, but I'm not going to claim Katrina on my 1995 taxes even though I could use the money, having just moved into a new house."