Spin off of a spin off Social Security Card

[barkley]

On top of that you do get the "insurance" to assist if something does happen.
For a couple - you get two adults for the same price as one depending on which one you use.

a handful of years ago our homeowners insurance company started including identity theft coverage in their policies for all members of the household. increased the cost of the policy by about $15 a year.

 

[barkley]

we had a close call with a social security number. when going through a late family member's possessions we came across a credit application for a costly home improvement they must have been considering at one point. without our knowledge let alone agreement-they had listed dh's name as a co-borrower and had filled it out entirely (signatures and all) EXCEPT for dh's social security number. they could'nt figure that out and i guess never came up with a way to access it (they figured out his salary to the penny though-thanks to public records on public employee salaries). the application was for a local company (to them) that likely would have run the application and approved it without ever requiring dh to present himself (contract would have been left off with homeowner to sign/return).

keep your social security card secure.

 

[gottalovepluto]

.Same for schools, I guess my kids school was hacked and all info taken.
I swear its the credit monitoring services that do this - not you have to pay them forever after the first two years free.
And the free version gives you next to nothing really.

So we have to pay for a service to perpetually file a fraud alert and lock our credit.

If you don't do it I highly recommend doing the permanent fraud alerts.
Its a PITA, but it helps.

We really need a new system. Like most things with the government - it’s broken.

There is a lot of wrong here so let’s fix it. Maybe your life will get cheaper and less stressful as well.

Just freeze your credit. It takes <10 mins for me to unfreeze all 3 bureaus. Free, lasts as long as you want. Locks are stuff the bureaus sucker people into.

An easy to understand article: Freeze vs Lock

From the FTC- What To Know About Freezes and Fraud Alerts. Anyone considering a fraud alert read that and then go read more info before setting one. Fraud alerts are not necessary for most people and are only recommended if you’re dealing with or highly suspect you’re about to deal with identity theft. Extended fraud alerts are only allowed when you’ve actually had your identity stolen, not just your info- and they are not “permanent”.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Well it is in my backpack with my laptop, so when I am wearing the backpack it is with me, but I don't put it in my wallet or anything.

Seize the day by taking your card out of your backpack today. No reason to carry it in your backpack at all.

 

[bcla]

It's clearly not recommended.

https://blog.ssa.gov/guard-your-card-protect-whats-important-to-you/​

We encourage you not to carry your Social Security card with you every day. The best way to “Guard Your Card” is to keep it in a safe place and share it only when required, which is rare. In fact, in most cases, just knowing the Social Security number should be enough. In 49 states and the District of Columbia, a Social Security card isn’t required to request a Real ID. Only Pennsylvania requires it.​

 

[BlueStarryHat]

I used to, until my sister saw it in my wallet one day and took me to task about carrying it. Now I keep it in a safe place should I ever need it. I got it when I was a child and the signature on it is totally different to the way I sign things now anyway.

 

[softballpooh]

Fun fact- my college used our SSN as our student ID numbers so we did everything by our SSN. It was printed on our ID cards and when grades were posted, they were posted by student ID (aka SSN) outside of the classroom door. They didn’t post student names for privacy reasons We also had a college directory that published every student’s name, address, birthday, etc and was printed and given to every student. Clearly identity theft was not a concern back then.

 

[georgina]

No, never. Also wanted to add - places also used to use only the last 4 digits of SSN for identification. After having 3 kids while living in the same state, I realized those last 4 digits are the only random parts of the number. Now that they are assigned at birth, if someone knows your date of birth and where you were born, they can probably figure out your whole SSN from the last 4 digits. So for 3 kids born a few years apart, (not using their real numbers), the first 3 digits might be 278, 279, and 290; and the middle 2 digits are 56, 58, and 60. My DH who is older and probably didn't get a number until he got a job (same georaphical area), also has numbers that fall into the sequence.

 

[tvguy]

I had a 7 year fraud alert placed with a police report after my identity theft. I found that some places just didn't pay any attention to the fraud alert and proceeded like it wasn't even there.

You are right that locking and unlocking your credit through a paid service is easier. The law only says that you have to be able to freeze and unfreeze your credit for free, it doesn't say that the credit bureau have to make it easy. So they created the concept of locking and unlocking to solve and monetize a problem they created. Their paid service to lock/unlock is simpler than the free freeze/unfreeze. I refuse to give them or any one connected to them money to protect my data, data they must protect by law.

I find that I only have to unthaw my credit once every 5 or so years. I don't apply for credit often as I already have a mortgage, cars, and credit cards. My daughter on the other hand has moved every year for the past 4 years and does have to schedule a thaw and refreeze each time. Takes about one minute total to do it for all three. I can't see paying a service to save a fraction of a minute per year.

Credit monitoring is a joke. It's like paying an alarm company to not try to deter criminals but to only call you after someone has broken into your home and taken all your stuff. The damage is already done and it is too late. Your identity has already been used and you will have to deal with it just the same.

In my opinion the credit bureaus are committing fraud by not keeping everyone's credit frozen by default. They have monetized a flawed system they created. It should be criminal but our government is letting us down once again.

I will certainly consider it as it seems east to thaw out if I need it. But at my age I don't ever expect to need credit ever again. And seems like there are hacks at companies I deal with frequently enough that I am always covered by Credit Monitoring for free.

 

[aprilgail]

Never- there is no need to- I have never ever had anyone ask to see my social security card.

 

[jo-jo]

This is weird.....You know how you see XXX-XX-1234 as your SS number???? When my sister passed away, I'm going through her papers. Her last four digits are my birthday. Made it a whole lot easier when closing her accounts and they asked her last four digits of SS.

 

[bcla]

No, never. Also wanted to add - places also used to use only the last 4 digits of SSN for identification. After having 3 kids while living in the same state, I realized those last 4 digits are the only random parts of the number. Now that they are assigned at birth, if someone knows your date of birth and where you were born, they can probably figure out your whole SSN from the last 4 digits. So for 3 kids born a few years apart, (not using their real numbers), the first 3 digits might be 278, 279, and 290; and the middle 2 digits are 56, 58, and 60. My DH who is older and probably didn't get a number until he got a job (same georaphical area), also has numbers that fall into the sequence.

It's randomized now.

https://www.ssa.gov/employer/randomizationfaqs.html

 

[georgina]

It's randomized now.

https://www.ssa.gov/employer/randomizationfaqs.html

Glad to hear it. My kids were all born in the '90s, and I though it was a bad idea back then!

Of course, the sequencing makes it easier for me to remember their numbers. I know all 3 of theirs and DH's. (I don't even know their current phone numbers.)