Steprich765
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| | You and Your Social Security Number: When to Use (6th Dec 22 at 11:22am UTC) | | It's perhaps the most significant number you'll ever possess. It's not your credit card number, bank account number, or even your date of birth. Your Social Security number is what everyone seems to be after. But in this day and age of identity theft, it's usually best to just say "no."
The only thing that can uniquely identify you is your Social Security number. It’s so intricately linked with who you are that if someone else has access to it, they can virtually become you.
When to use your Social Security number
You should only use your phone number when communicating with employers, government organizations, and financial institutions.
When a government organization asks for the number, you must provide it. It is necessary for communications with the Internal Revenue Service, welfare offices, and your state's department of motor vehicles.
Your number may also be required by some government health programs, group health plans, workers' compensation, insurance providers, and credit card applications. Even to stop credit card offers from arriving in the mail, you need to provide your number.
Every time a company asks for your Social Security number, it has to provide a statement stating whether or not the number is required and outlining how it will be protected.
When to refuse sharing your Social Security number
Your Social Security number may be requested by private parties, but it is typically in your best interest to deny providing it to them.
Remember that if you choose not to provide your phone number, certain companies may refuse to serve you. They have the right to do so. Your driver's license number is frequently a workable compromise.
If you choose to give your Social Security number to a private company, make sure the organization takes precautions to safeguard it.
The best advice is to only give out your phone number when it is absolutely necessary and when the organization asking for it is reliable. Don't give out your phone number if you have any doubts.
How to protect your Social Security number
Despite having the best of intentions, many people unintentionally allow their Social Security number to fall into the hands of identity thieves or discover it has been compromised in a data breach. Follow these recommendations to help stop this from happening to you:
Never give someone who calls you on the phone your Social Security number. Hang up and call them at their publicly available or posted phone number if it's your bank or another business you deal with.
Keep your Social Security card and other items containing your number at home.
Save your phone number somewhere secure. If you haven't already done so and believe you'll need it, divide the list of numbers into two or three sets that are written in various locations. Other people won't understand the numbers if they come across them.
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