CHAPTER
2

Protecting Your Number and Card

In This Chapter

• Why it’s important to protect your Social Security number
• Ways to keep your number from identity thieves
• What to do if someone else uses your number
• How to replace a lost card or get a new number
• How to change your name on your Social Security card

Do you ever feel as if you’re just a number? Have you ever felt that your entire identity has been reduced to a series of numerals with a couple of dashes in between?

Well, guess what? It has, and it’s your Social Security number—but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s simply the way the federal government tracks how much you’ve earned, how much you’ve paid in taxes, and therefore how much you’re entitled to collect in benefits when you reach retirement age.

Your Social Security number is your connection to the vast government entity known as the Social Security Administration (SSA), which provides you retirement income from the age you start collecting your benefits (available as early as age 62, with some benefit reductions and restrictions) until you die.

The Importance of Protecting Your Number

Your Social Security number is probably the most important number you’ll ever have—unless you’re a career military person, and then your service serial number is probably just as important. But for most of us, it’s our Social Security number, the one number we get from the government that stays with us for life—which makes it extremely important that we protect it.

Avoiding Identity Theft

According to the FBI, identity theft has become one of the fastest-growing crimes in America. The Federal Trade Commission says 10 million Americans are defrauded every year through identity theft and other means by which thieves gain access to others’ financial information.

One of the major entry points into a person’s identity is through his or her Social Security number, which is why you need to be sure to protect your number. Once someone else starts using your identity, it’s not that easy to get it back. Chances are it’s going to take a lot of time and money, and even then your life will have been turned upside down during the process.

The number of cases involving stolen Social Security numbers has become so pervasive that the SSA has started a public relations campaign to encourage people and businesses to use other methods of identification instead of their Social Security number.

A thief who gets hold of your Social Security number can gain access to …

• Your bank or securities accounts.
• Your credit cards.
• Your driving record.
• Your tax history.
• Your medical records.

Each time you use your Social Security number, either online, on the phone, or on print applications, you open yourself up to the risk of identity theft. But if so many institutions use the Social Security number as their primary method of identification, how can you avoid sharing it?

That’s beginning to change. Some businesses and schools are shifting to alternative employee or student identifiers such as a dedicated identification number issued by the employer or school, a number that always will follow the employee or student. Some are starting to use fingerprints and eye scans instead of requiring a Social Security number for identification.

The new way of thinking recommended by the SSA is to use your Social Security number only as a secondary identifier and to do this in a limited fashion, such as providing only the last four digits of your number instead of the entire number.

There are some organizations that will have to continue using Social Security numbers, and they’re being asked to implement encryption software to protect this sensitive data.

Even with these changes, you’re still required to use your Social Security number with the Internal Revenue Service, and with any employer, so income taxes can be withheld. But there are even ways around this. You can get what’s called a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). This can become your alternative to using your Social Security number with employers, potential employers, and creditors.

CAUTION

Here are some things you should never do with your Social Security number:

• Never list it when posting something on a public bulletin board.
• Never send it over the internet, including in an email.
• Never use it as part of a computer login.
• Never use it on an ID card.
• Never put it on a postcard.
• Never store it on an unprotected or public website.
• Never carry your Social Security card on your person, including in your wallet.

One of the newest and most sophisticated methods of stealing your personal information and your identity is through phishing. In this process, the phishers set up a phony website that looks just like one you’ve been doing business with and therefore trust implicitly. This could be a company you occasionally buy things from online, or an online bank account you access frequently. Sometimes the phishing is in the form of a contest you’ve supposedly won. To claim your prize, you’re required to provide valuable personal information, including your Social Security number, which once again puts you at risk for identity theft.

DEFINITION

Phishing is a play on the word “fishing,” and it’s something identity thieves do to trick you into providing them with your personal information such as passwords, credit card numbers, Social Security numbers, and anything else they can use to set up accounts in your name. They often do this by sending you an email pretending to be a person or business you trust and requesting you to supply the information they’re fishing for.

Phishers may also send you an email saying your account has been frozen for some reason and you need to get in touch with them to set up a new account. If you bite and give them your information, including a credit card number, expiration date, and security code, before you know it somebody in Chechnya or Mumbai is on a shopping spree. It’s especially a red flag if they ask for your Social Security number because no one should be asking for that, especially online.

Has Your Identity Been Stolen?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has created an excellent guide to help you if you believe your identity has been stolen. If you’re unsure, here are some tips to indicate someone else is pretending to be you:

• Money is missing from your bank account, and you did not withdraw it.
• Your credit card statement contains charges for purchases you didn’t make—especially if these purchases are from overseas.
• You stopped receiving bills in the mail and you’re not on a paperless billing plan.
• Vendors refuse to take your check.
• You start receiving calls from collection agencies for debts you don’t recognize and you didn’t incur.
• A medical claim is rejected because your health-care provider says you hit your limit.
• A data breach company notifies you that your information has been compromised.
• You get arrested for a crime someone else committed using your identity (one of the most extreme and frightening examples of identity theft).

What should you do if any of these things happen to you? Here are the first and immediate steps you should take:

• Submit a complaint to the FTC.
• File a police report and get a copy of that report or the report’s number. Give the police the FTC report as well.
• Contact all three credit reporting companies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—and place a fraud alert on your credit file, reporting that you have been the victim of identity theft.
• You may want to request the credit reporting companies put a freeze on your credit file, which prevents future creditors from getting access to your credit report and may prevent an identity thief from opening new accounts in your name.
• Request a free credit report from each reporting company. Go through every single item in the reports, picking out any of the fraudulent activity.
• Go through your entire bank and credit card account statements very carefully, checking for suspicious activity.
• Once you’ve detected any fraudulent charges, contact the businesses related to the charge and report this to their fraud department. You should also follow up in writing and send any letters by certified mail, which gives you a record that you contacted them. You might even want to include a return receipt to be sent back to you that will document that they signed for your letter.

The FTC recommends that you create an Identity Theft Report that would be attached to the report you file with the police about the identity theft. This report will be valuable as you start dealing with credit card companies, debt collectors, the credit reporting companies and any businesses that have accounts in your name. It will help you …

• Remove any fraudulent information from your credit report.
• Head off a company from collecting debts incurred through identity theft.
• Obtain information from companies about accounts an identity thief opened in your name, or your accounts that the thief simply used without your knowledge.

Replacing a Lost or Stolen Card

If your Social Security card is lost or stolen, you can replace it for free up to 3 times a year or 10 times during your lifetime.

Getting a replacement card is pretty simple:

• You’ll need to complete application form number SS-5. You can find an application online by going to ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf.
• You’ll need to present an unexpired document, such as a driver’s license or passport with your photo, which proves who you are.
• You’ll have to show evidence of your U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport.
• If you’re a noncitizen but are here legally, you will need to show proof of that status.

Keep in mind that this replacement card will have the same name and number as your previous card.

Requesting a New Social Security Number

Getting a new Social Security number is not quite as easy as replacing a lost card. In fact, you need to qualify and have a good reason before the SSA will issue you a new number. Also, any new number will be cross-referenced with your old number by the SSA, so if you thought you could escape paying off old debts with a new number, you can forget about it.

How to Qualify for a New Number

The SSA will give you a new number if you …

• Can show someone else is using your number to apply for government benefits, such as welfare, food stamps, or unemployment.
• Prove you are being abused, harassed, or in grave danger by using your original number.
• Can prove someone has stolen your number and is using it to get credit cards in your name.
• Can show that your number is being used by someone trying to get a job.
• Can prove that someone else is using your number to hide illegal activities.
• Can show someone else is using your number to file fraudulent tax returns.

According to the SSA, it has issued new Social Security numbers to over 14,000 people. Many of them were the victims of domestic abuse. In fact, the SSA has created a new program to help anyone in danger get a new number. For more information on this initiative and what documents you will need to be able to obtain a new number because of domestic violence, read the publication, “New Numbers for Domestic Violence Victims,” at ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10093.pdf.

Now, the question remains as to whether victims of identity theft should request a new Social Security number. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, in most cases you probably shouldn’t change your number because it could cause more problems than it solves. On the other hand, the SSA says if you’ve done all you can do to fix any problems due to misuse of your number and someone continues to use it, they may assign you a new number.

Documents Required

If you do decide to get a new number, you’ll need to prove your identity, your age, and your citizenship. You’ll also need to provide evidence that you’re still having problems with your original number.

To prove your identity, you’ll need either a U.S. driver’s license, a U.S. passport, or a state-issued non-driver identification card. If you don’t have one of those, you could use an employee ID card, school ID card, health insurance card (but not a Medicare card), U.S. military ID card, adoption decree, Certificate of Naturalization, or Certificate of Citizenship.

To prove your age, you’ll need your birth certificate; a doctor, clinic, or hospital record; a religious record, such as a baptismal record; a U.S. passport; or school or employment records.

Any two of the above documents should suffice.

The SSA warns that even if you’re given a new number, all your problems may not disappear, especially if you continue to use your original name and your same address. They add that a new number could also cause new problems because you would not have a credit history with the new number, which means you could have trouble getting credit.

Changing Your Name on Your Card

There are four good reasons to change your name on your Social Security card:

1. You got married.
2. You got divorced and now want to use your maiden name.
3. You changed your name legally.
4. Your name was wrong to begin with.

To change the name on your card, you’ll need proof of identity and possibly of citizenship. The following documents should work:

• Your birth certificate
• A driver’s license
• A passport
• Your marriage certificate (if this is the reason you’re changing your name)
• A divorce decree (if you’re changing your name back to your maiden name)
• A court order if you’re changing your name legally

If you don’t have a driver’s license or passport, you may be able to use your military ID card, your student ID card, or a health insurance card (but not a Medicare card).

The Least You Need to Know

• There are several ways to protect your Social Security number from theft. The first way is to be really careful about providing your Social Security number to anyone.
• There are many steps you need to take if your identity is stolen, and you should take immediate action to resolve the problem.
• Phishing has become a prevalent method of identity theft by gaining illegal access to personal information. Avoid giving out such information, especially your Social Security number, to anyone or any business, especially online.
• Changing the name on your Social Security card is relatively easy with the right documentation. You can mail in the necessary documentation or take it to your local SSA office and, once the documentation is verified, your new card will be sent to you.