Your Social Security number is something you probably don't use too often. You may not even know it by heart.
But your Social Security number is a vital piece of information. It's a number you'll need to provide when you accept a job, apply for a loan, or file a tax return. And if your Social Security number winds up in the wrong hands, the results could, unfortunately, be downright dreadful.
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A world of unfavorable consequences
A criminal who gets a hold of your Social Security number can use it to do a host of bad things. Someone can open a credit card in your name that you know nothing about, rack up charges, and not pay the bill. Once that happens, your credit score could take a major hit -- and you may not be any the wiser until you go to apply for a new loan or credit card yourself.
A criminal with your Social Security number could also use it to file a tax return on your behalf and steal your tax refund. And if you're old enough to be eligible for Social Security benefits (which happens once you turn 62), someone could file a claim and steal those benefits out from under you. All they'd need to do is divert that income to an account they manage. It's actually frighteningly simple.
Avoiding issues with a stolen Social Security number
In some situations, you can be extremely careful and still have your Social Security number end up in the wrong hands. If your bank experiences a data breach, for example, someone could find out what your Social Security number is and use it against you.
But there are a few steps you can take to avoid that scenario. For one thing, don't carry your Social Security card around. Also, be careful when giving that number out. And never give it out on an unsolicited basis.
Scammers have, in recent years, increasingly taken to targeting seniors in the context of financial fraud. If someone calls you out of the blue claiming to be an employee of the Social Security Administration (SSA), hang up. Do not give them your Social Security number. Similarly, do not respond to a random email, text, or even letter in the mail asking for that information.
One common scam criminals tend to use on seniors is calling and threatening to garnish their Social Security benefits if they don't comply by answering some basic financial questions. You should know that the SSA will never do that.
This doesn't mean that you can't have your Social Security income garnished. That could happen, for example, if you don't make any attempt to pay the IRS when you have a balance due. But in that case, you'll get an official letter in the mail warning you of that consequence. You won't have a random person calling you up asking you to confirm your Social Security number.
What to do if your Social Security number is stolen
If you have reason to believe that your Social Security number has been stolen, contact the SSA and ask for guidance. What might that look like?
Let's say you try to sign up for Social Security benefits, only to find that there's already a benefits application for you on file. That's the sort of thing you'll want to try to get ahead of.
Similarly, let's say you've been getting Social Security benefits on a monthly basis, only suddenly, those payments stop. That, too, is a situation to investigate immediately.
Now, if your Social Security number has been used to do things like open a new credit card in your name, that's not really something the SSA can assist with. In that case, you'd want to go to IdentityTheft.gov to report that activity. That site is managed by the Federal Trade Commission. You may also want to contact the IRS if you feel your Social Security number has been associated with any sort of tax fraud.
It's unfortunate that criminals can do a lot of bad things with a Social Security number. And the consequences of having yours stolen could be impactful whether you're of retirement age or not. That's why it's so important to do what you can to safeguard that number -- and also to know what to do if it does fall into the wrong hands.
