Protect Your Social Security Number With These BBB Tips

The ways identity thieves commit fraud are varied, but they often look for key pieces of your personal identifying information to start creating false accounts. And Social Security numbers are high on that list.

Many people are confused about whether they should provide those numbers to businesses and other organizations they come in contact with in their daily lives. Employers, financial institutions and government need that information to file government reports, make credit checks and process tax returns or benefits.

But other businesses may be able to use other information to identify you that are just as good, such as their own account numbers, your driver's license or some other system. Schools and colleges, for example, once used Social Security numbers on ID badges and files, but most have converted to their own systems, which keep your number private.

According to the Social Security Administration, consumers are obliged to provide their number for tax returns and federal loans, credit applications, government programs like food stamps or Medicare, financial institutions, employers and state agencies who license motor vehicles.  Social Security numbers also are required to obtain reports from credit reporting companies.

Physicians, dentists, utilities, prospective employers, employment recruiters, temporary agencies and schools also ask for the numbers, along with some retailers and pawn shops.  You aren’t required to provide the information to these types of businesses, but they also may refuse to do business with you if you refuse.

Some businesses may ask for the number so they can run a credit check. This may happen if you’re buying a wireless phone or financing a car, for example.

The BBB has the following tips for consumers to use when asked for a Social Security number:

• Ask under what law the number is required.
• Find out if alternative methods of identification are acceptable, such as a driver’s license or only the last four digits of your number.
• In the case of employment recruiters or temp agencies, find out whether you may give your Social Security number directly to a potential employer.
• Determine who will have access to this data.
• Ask what steps are taken to protect your personal information.

The Better Business Bureau advises consumers not to enter a Social Security number online or give it over the telephone or in an email.  Lock tax and other documents which contain your Social Security number in a safe place. When they are no longer needed, shred them before disposing of them.

For more advice on fighting identity fraud and managing personal finances, visit www.bbb.org or call 314-645-3300.