This is one example where the credit bureau might legitimately ask you to provide your Social Security number. You can always unfreeze it if you do apply for credit. Facebook gives you a lot of control over who can see what, so - in addition to protecting your posts - make sure you’re limiting who, if anyone, can see things like your phone number, friends list, email address and other details about you.įreezing your credit with the three major credit reporting bureaus ( Equifax, Experian and TransUnion) can make your report unavailable for opening a new credit card or loan in your name. Use the service’s privacy features to limit who has access to your information. While it’s great to share some aspects of your life, be aware that details about you can be used to piece together information needed to steal your identity. Social media accounts can also be used by thieves to collect information about you. Scammers sometimes register sites with similar addresses to take advantage of typos. Rather than clicking on a link, type in the web address yourself, and be very careful to get it right. This type of information, combined with other data, can be used by identity thieves.īe very careful about responding to emails, phone calls, texts or social media messages that ask you to log-in to what you think might be your bank, insurance company, medical provider or any government agency like Medicare or Social Security. And don’t provide this or any other highly confidential information if you’re on a public Wi-Fi site like at a coffee shop or airport.Īlso be careful when it comes to other forms of personally identifiable information (PII), such as your full date of birth, your driver’s license number and even your home address and phone number. If you are sure it is necessary to provide your number online, make sure you’re on a legitimate site (not an imposter site) and that you see the letters https in the browser (the s stands for “secure.”). Some doctors ask or it, but they don’t really need it to provide service or be reimbursed by your insurance or Medicare. There are a few other legitimate reasons why a company might ask for your Social Security number (like when applying for insurance) but they are rare. Never reveal to anyone unless you are certain it will be used for legitimate purposes like when you’re applying for credit from what you’re certain is a legitimate lender, checking you credit report or score with a legitimate credit reporting site or setting up an identity theft protection service. Keep your Social Security number confidential. There are things you can do to reduce the chances of being a victim, and if you are a victim, there are things you can do to recover. Of course not all identity theft is reported to the government, so these numbers are likely somewhat low. Sometimes they or their parents don’t learn about the theft until they apply for a student loan or their first credit card. Because they typically have very clean credit records, their social security number can be used by scammers to open up accounts. When it comes to reports per 100,000 population, Georgia leads the way (427) followed by Florida (304) and California (257) with Texas and Nevada tied for fourth (256).Ĭhildren are not exempt. There are victims in nearly every age group, with the biggest chunk (170,255) between the ages of 30 and 39. The agency said that 88% of those were credit card fraud with 29% tax fraud - an important reminder as we approach the April 15 tax filing deadline. In 2019, the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel Network took in 650,572 identity theft reports, which represented 20% of all fraud reports. This post first appeared in the Mercury News
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