Your Social Security Number Could Be Stolen Right Now — Here’s How to Stop It

Your social security number is at the center of your financial life. Employers use it, lenders check it and crooks try to fly it because a nine -digit identity document can open doors to jobs, credit, taxes and health services. With major violations in the titles and millions of files exposed, processing your SSN as a password that you never share is not enough.

You can pay for surveillance, but there is a harder and free defense line that you control: lock your SSN and associate it with a credit gel. The blocking of electronic access to your number makes it much more difficult for criminals to go through job checks or open accounts to your name, and a freeze stop a new credit even if someone has your contact details. There is also the option of an identity protection service if you want additional insurance.

This adds a little friction to your life, but if you have treated an identity theft or if your information has been taken in a breach, this additional barrier can avoid real damage.

Do not miss any of the CNET impartial technological content and opinions based on the laboratory. Add us as a favorite Google source on Chrome.

How to lock your social security number

There are two ways to block access to your social security number.

Call the Social Security Administration

You can contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time, Monday to Friday. Waiting times are generally shorter in the morning and later in the week. Once you have confirmed your identity, the SSA will wave its magic wand and will block electronic access to your SSN.

Create an E-Verify account

You can also create a MYE-VERIFY online account to lock your SSN and use the service self-cutting function. The lock will last a year. But you will be alerted 30 days before its expiration, and you can extend the lock if you wish.

This resource is useful because many employers use E-VERIFY, a service administered by the SSA and the American citizenship and immigration services, to check your eligibility for employment.

When you lock your social security number, a company looking to check your SSN will not be able to check your identity, preventing criminals from committing fraud. This option is also practical if you do not want to get the phone each time you want to unlock your SSN.

The drawback of locking your SSN

The main drawback of locking your SSN will be very familiar to all those who have a credit frost in place. When you block access to your SSN records, you also limit your access. This means that you will have to go through the hassles of unlocking it whenever you need a new employer to check your work eligibility in the United States or want to receive benefits.

These round trips can be worth it to people who have suffered from an identity theft and tax fraud. For more protection against tax identity theft, you can create an IRS identity protective pin to prevent someone else from producing a income tax return to your SSN identification number or individual taxpayers.

What is the difference between locking your SSN and a credit gel?

A credit gel is different from locking the social security number, although both are free. We block access to your online social security file while a credit freezing restricts access to your credit reports. To carry out a credit freeze, you will need to contact the three main credit offices (Experian, Equifax and Transunion) to prevent anyone from creating new credit accounts in your name.

Will he lock my SSN protecting me from identity theft?

The answer here is quite unsatisfactory: it could. The locking of your social security number can prevent theft of employment identity or prevent a criminal from receiving the benefits of the government on your behalf. But that will not prevent all forms of identification flight. As an additional precaution, you should only share your social security number when it is absolutely necessary and never on a call or SMS not in form or an SMS.

It is also a good idea to monitor your financial accounts and your credit reports for any unusual activity. If you prefer to have a service to do it for you, you can register for a credit surveillance service or an identity theft protection service. You can often register for credit monitoring to keep an eye on your credit reports. Protection of the identification theft often includes credit monitoring as well as dark web monitoring and alerts if your information is compromised in a data violation. If your identity is compromised, the protection of identity theft can help you recover it via white gloves restoration services.

For more security, you can freeze your credit with Experian, Transunion and Equifax to prevent identity thieves from opening new credit lines to your name, such as a mortgage or a car loan. I did it recently and I found the process surprisingly easy.

More advice on protecting your identity