Having your Social Security number allows a thief to access other sensitive information about you. Your number and good credit can be used by identity thieves to apply for more credit in your name. It also hurts your credit if they use the credit cards and don’t pay the bills.
Can someone access my bank account with my Social Security number?
Having your Social Security number is an essential piece of personal information. The Social Security Administration uses your nine-digit number to identify and track your wages. You can get Social Security benefits in your retirement years if your SSN is linked to your earnings.
Your Social Security number can be used to impersonate you if someone has access to it. Some of the time, this can provide them access to your bank account. Fortunately, thieves frequently require more than just your Social Security number to gain access to your bank account.
What can a scammer do with your Social Security number?
Thieves make a lot of money when they steal or fraudulently use someone else’s Social Security number. A total of $7.9 billion in fraudulent payments were made by the Social Security Administration in 2019. Over $1,000 is the average cost of a person’s identity being stolen!
An ever-increasing difficulty According to a report by Javelin Strategy & Research, the number of Social Security Numbers stolen in data breaches topped the number of credit card numbers in 2017.
Having your Social Security Number stolen can have a devastating effect on your credit rating. Undoing damage of this kind takes a significant amount of time and work.
Once they get your SSN, identity thieves and hackers can use it to make false claims, file phony tax returns, open bank accounts, and more. One can swiftly and easily get their hands on some big cash by using an SSN that has a strong credit score connected.
Can someone ruin your life with your Social Security number?
Many Americans are concerned about identity theft at the moment. Consumers are becoming more careful about where and how they share and use personal information in light of recent data breaches.
Personal and financial information can be hacked at any time, but a social security number is by far the most vulnerable. A compromised or stolen social security number can have a severe effect on an individual’s life.
In order to identify you, you must provide your social security number. You can do everything with it, from finding work to getting paid for it, all the way through to filing your taxes. It can put you in danger if it has been hacked.
A social security number, unlike credit cards and bank accounts, cannot be closed and reissued with a single phone call. Obtaining a new social security number from the Social Security Administration is also difficult. Few situations need the issuance of new serial numbers. A new social security number is usually only issued after all other options have been tried, even in the instance of identity theft. When a social security number is compromised, it might take years to recover from identity theft.
How do I check to see if someone is using my Social Security number?
You can’t tell whether someone has your Social Security number unless they actually use it. You can get dark web monitoring from some providers, which keeps track of your data in places on the internet that are generally only used by criminals. If you are the victim of a data breach, it is very likely that your personal information will end up on the dark web.
A dark web scan doesn’t guarantee that someone has your SSN or is using it, even if your information is found on the dark web.
Review your credit report to check if there are any unusual items. Make sure that all of the information in your accounts and open lines of credit is correct. If you don’t, someone may be utilizing your personal information illegally.
Your Social Security Statement may also be of interest. If someone has started withdrawing from your Social Security account earnings, this document will demonstrate that someone has been using your SSN.
How do I lock my SSN?
- In order to protect your financial and personal data, use strong passwords and two-step verification on any sites and apps that contain personal information.
- Your Social Security Number (SSN) should not be shared over the phone or through unprotected networks. Prior to submitting sensitive information, check the URL for “https://” (the “s” indicates that the site is protected by some type of encryption).
- Don’t merely toss away paperwork with personal information on it; shred it instead.
- Use secure Wi-Fi networks and be wary of responding to emails requesting personal information.
- It’s important to check your credit report every year to make sure it’s accurate. If you discover an error, please notify us immediately.
- Finally, if you don’t plan to take out loans or seek for new employment within the next few months, freezing your Social Security number is a good idea.
Visit the myE-Verify website of the U.S. government and perform the necessary steps online to secure your Social Security number. Katie Gampietro Burke, CFP and founder of Wealth by Empowerment, states “You’ll need to enter your personal info, take a quiz, enter document data, and then obtain your results.” A one-year subscription to the Self Lock service is free, and members will be notified 30 days in advance of its expiration date so they can renew. Instructions to unlock your phone number are also available on the internet.
On top of that, Adam Funk recommends writing to Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax and requesting that your Social Security number be locked. The charge for processing the request could be as low as $10.
Can I change my SSN?
Changing your Social Security number is permitted by the Social Security Administration, but only if you are a victim of identity theft or if your life is in danger. You’ll also need to provide the necessary paperwork to back up your request for a new phone number.
What can someone do with my SSN and DOB?
It’s not quite the same as having your bank account details compromised, but it’s still a stressful event. Getting a new bank account number is far easier than getting a new Social Security number from the Social Security Administration.
Why you need a Social Security number
The Social Security Administration describes an SSN as a nine-digit number used to track an individual’s identity. You’ll need your Social Security number to authenticate your identification and keep track of your earnings whenever you begin a new job or apply for government assistance. Make sure to contact the Social Security Administration if you cannot locate your card and need your Social Security number.
How Social Security number theft occurs
Your identity (or Social Security number) can be stolen in many different ways. Your Social Security number could be obtained in a variety of ways, including hacking into databases, searching through trash for personal information, and more. If your identity is stolen, the criminals can then sell it on the dark web.
What happens when someone’s identity is stolen
If an identity thief gets their hands on your Social Security number, they can use it to perform a variety of financial crimes, and you might be held liable.
What do you think? Most facets of Americans’ lives, including job, medical history, taxes, education, bank accounts, and so on, are linked to their Social Security numbers. If someone gets their hands on your Social Security Number, here are a few examples of what they can do with it.
To begin, open a bank account or accounts.
In order to give you credit or open an account, banks require your Social Security number as the most significant piece of personal information they can obtain. If a thief has that number, he or she can obtain credit cards or loans and then fail to pay them back, causing damage to your credit. If you miss a payment, it will show up on your credit report, which could make it difficult for you to get a loan or open a new account in the future.
You may utilize your credit scores and credit reports to identify and stop fraud as soon as you notice strange transactions. As a result, it could take years for your credit scores to recover from the damage caused by the fake material being deleted from your report.
2. Seek medical attention if necessary.
Your medical records could be tainted if someone else uses your Social Security number for medical treatment. For example, picture what would happen if you were given the wrong blood type treatment because of inaccurate medical records. If you don’t have health insurance, you may find yourself in a predicament when you need it most.
A third option is to fraudulently claim a tax refund.
Taxpayer ID theft is on the rise. As a result of using stolen Social Security numbers to fraudulently claim a return, the victim’s rightful refund will be held up. Since huge data breaches like the Equifax incident, the IRS has found $227 million in fake tax returns, and this problem is only going to get worse.
It’s better to file your taxes as soon as possible in order to ensure that an identity thief doesn’t take use of your stolen information. As soon as you discover that your return was rejected as a duplicate, you’ll know that someone has stolen your identity and you may begin the process of obtaining your money back.
Commit criminal acts
The thief may have committed many more crimes than simply obtaining your Social Security number. Because your Social Security number has been given to law enforcement by a criminal, you have become entangled in their criminal history. When applying for jobs or doing anything else that involves a criminal background check, you could be denied because of their criminal past.
Your benefits should be stolen, therefore don’t do it
Your Social Security number can potentially be used by a thief to apply for unemployment or Social Security benefits, depleting those resources and preventing you from obtaining such benefits when you need them in the future.
Can I get a loan with just my SSN?
To get what you want, you don’t need a large sum of money from your family or friends, and you don’t have to take out a loan from a bank. With so many financial institutions to choose from, getting a loan is as simple as filling out an application and submitting supporting documentation. The Social Security Number (SSN) is one of the requirements for submitting an application (SSN).
What is an SSN?
All citizens and residents of the United States are given a nine-digit number by the federal government, which is used to keep track of how many years they have worked and how much they have earned. After a person retires, the government uses the information it has gathered to figure out how much money they will receive. It’s used for a variety of things like getting a job or paying taxes, but it’s not just that. The Social Security Number (SSN) is mandatory:
Can You Get a Loan Without an SSN?
If you have an SSN, obtaining a loan will be much simpler. Banks and other lenders can get all the information they need to process a loan by using a borrower’s Social Security Number (SSN). Using this method eliminates the need to fill out a slew of forms or submit numerous documents. There are, however, a few drawbacks to not having an SSN. The good news is you can still get a bank or lending institution to lend you money.
What do I do if my Social Security number has been exposed?
Immediately notify your local police department and the Social Security Administration (call toll-free 1-800-772-11213) if your SSN card or number is lost or stolen. Other steps you can take to lessen the impact of misplacing your Social Security card are listed below.
Has SSN been compromised?
or visit www.identitytheft.gov/ to report identity theft at 1-877-IDTHEFT Visit www.socialsecurity.gov/statement/ to request a copy of your Social Security Administration earnings and benefits statement or to see if your Social Security number has been used to obtain employment or to avoid paying taxes.
Can you put a freeze on your Social Security number?
E-Verify, which is run by the US Department of Homeland Security, is the first step. Then, follow the instructions to freeze your Social Security number. Then, contact the police. Call the police as soon as you see that you’ve frozen.
How did someone get my Social Security number?
In order to steal your identity or Social Security number, there are a variety of methods. By exploiting data breaches, searching through the trash for personal documents, or using any number of other methods, thieves could steal your Social Security number. In the worst-case scenario, thieves can use your identity to perpetrate fraud, create accounts in your name, get medical treatment, file false tax returns, or even sell your identity.
As part of its Guard It service, ExtraCredit keeps an eye on the dark web and notifies you right away if your Social Security number or other personal information is compromised or shared online. Additionally, Guard It provides $1 million in identity theft insurance to cover the costs of identity restoration, legal fees, and lost pay in the event of a theft of personal information. The sooner you sign up, the better!