You need to protect your Social Security number to prevent identity theft. Threat actors can use your Social Security number to commit fraud and leave you with lasting effects such as debt, damaged credit and financial loss. It can be difficult to tell if someone uses your Social Security number without your permission. However, you can tell if your Social Security number was stolen if you notice unrecognized financial activity, calls from debt collectors, depleted benefits, suspicious emails or messages, unidentified tax returns or a criminal record.
Continue reading to learn more about how you can tell if someone has stolen your Social Security number, what to do if someone stole it and how you can prevent it from getting stolen.
6 Signs Someone Stole Your Social Security Number
It can be difficult to notice if someone has stolen and used your Social Security number. However, you may notice some unusual activity if you accidentally give your Social Security number to a threat actor. If you are worried someone has stolen your Social Security number, look out for the following signs.
1. Unrecognized financial activity
One of the best ways to check if someone stole your Social Security number is by reviewing your credit report and looking for any unrecognized financial activity. Threat actors will often use your Social Security number to open new bank accounts, apply for loans or withdraw money from your bank account. If you notice any unrecognized financial activity on your credit report, then someone most likely stole your Social Security number.
2. Calls from debt collectors
Threat actors can use your Social Security number to obtain loans, credit cards, medical treatment or utilities under your name, to avoid paying the bills themselves. Debt collectors will then message you regarding these overdue bills that you don’t recognize but need to pay. If you notice strange calls from debt collectors, a threat actor most likely stole and used your Social Security number.
3. Depleted benefits
If you are ever denied government assistance, such as unemployment or disability income, a threat actor could have stolen your Social Security number and used up your financial benefits. You may also get strange notices about applications for government benefits that you did not authorize. You need to check your government benefits to ensure no one has depleted them before it is too late.
4. Suspicious emails or messages
You should never ignore suspicious emails or messages that you don’t recognize as they could be a sign that your Social Security number was stolen. Look out for any suspicious messages such as:
- Recent medical treatment you didn’t receive
- Unpaid bills for services you don’t have
- Rejected applications for loans you didn’t apply for
- Proof of employment for jobs you don’t recognize
- Notifications about new accounts you didn’t open
5. Unidentified tax return
When filing your taxes, you may get rejected because someone has already filed them without your permission. You may also get notified by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding any suspicious activity regarding your taxes. A threat actor may have stolen your Social Security number and used it to falsely file your taxes for a tax return or misappropriate your health insurance. File your taxes early to avoid someone else filing them without your permission.
6. Criminal record
While applying for a job, the employer may require a background check. The background check may flag a criminal record that you don’t recognize. Threat actors can use your name and your Social Security number to commit crimes under your name and avoid criminal responsibility. This can make it difficult to get jobs in the future and tarnish your reputation.
What To Do if Your Social Security Number Has Been Stolen
If you notice any of the signs that your Social Security number has been stolen, you need to act right away to mitigate the damage. Here is what you need to do if your Social Security number was stolen.
Report the identity theft to the FTC
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is a government agency that protects consumers from deceptive and unfair practices. If you are the victim of identity theft, you need to report it to the FTC. Although the FTC will not investigate the report, they will use the report to protect other consumers from future identity theft. The FTC also collects all of the reported information to assist other entities with their investigation of identity theft, and provides you with resources to recover from the incident.
Freeze your credit or place a fraud alert
To prevent threat actors from using your Social Security number to apply for loans under your name, you need to individually freeze your credit with each of the three credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax. You must contact each of the credit bureaus separately to ensure a threat actor can’t access your credit reports with any of the credit bureaus you didn’t freeze your credit with.
If you don’t want to freeze your credit, you should place a fraud alert. A fraud alert requires you to verify your identity before you’re able to take out a loan under your name. You only need to contact one of the credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit report.
Contact any company that used your Social Security number
A threat actor can use your Social Security number to commit fraud to falsely receive services and benefits under your name. In that case, you need to contact each of the companies that the threat actor may have used your Social Security number with. Go through your messages and financial activity to determine which companies the threat actor contacted, including banks, utility companies or employers. Contact those companies notifying them of the identity theft and the fraudulent activity under your name. You may need to provide proof of your identity and that the fraudulent activity did not originate from you.
Contact the IRS
The Internal Revenue Service is a government agency that oversees the collection of taxes for U.S. citizens and corporate taxpayers. If your Social Security number was stolen, you have to contact the IRS to let them know about the identity theft. This will clarify any confusion about fraudulent tax returns or potential tax fraud. They will assist you with future tax returns by providing you with an Identity Protection PIN to ensure you are the only one able to file your taxes.
How To Protect Your Social Security Number
To prevent threat actors from abusing your Social Security number and avoid the damaging effects of identity theft, you need to protect your Social Security number. Here are the ways you can protect your Social Security number from getting stolen.
Use a password manager
A password manager is a tool that securely stores and manages your personal information in a digitally encrypted vault. You can store personal information such as your login credentials, credit card numbers and Social Security numbers in your password manager. If you need to store your Social Security number digitally, you should store it in a password manager because multiple layers of encryption protect a password manager and it can only be accessed with a strong master password.
A password manager will also protect your online accounts that have access to your Social Security number by identifying weak login credentials and prompting you to strengthen them with strong and unique passwords. A password manager also enables you to protect your accounts with strong forms of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) – a security protocol that requires additional authentication. Most password managers have integrated authenticator app features that allow you to locally generate 2FA codes in one tool.
Some password managers also come with a dark web monitoring tool to protect your information from the dark web. A dark web monitoring tool scans and monitors the dark web for specific personal information such as your email address, passwords or Social Security number. If a dark web monitoring tool finds your personal information on the dark web, it will alert you about the breach and allow you to take action.
Store your Social Security card in a safe location
You should never carry your Social Security card with you in person or leave it unattended. You need to keep your Social Security card in a secure location such as a safe to ensure no one can steal it. You should also store any documents with your Social Security number in a secure location as they can be used to steal your identity. If you need to dispose of any documents with your Social Security number, make sure to shred them.
You should never share your Social Security number with just anyone. You should only share your Social Security number if you are filing your taxes, starting a new job, getting your driver’s license, applying for government benefits, applying for a line of credit or loan, or making a cash transaction over $10,000. If you receive an unsolicited message asking to share your Social Security number, you should avoid it as it is most likely a phishing scam.
If you need to share your Social Security number digitally, you should use a password manager to safely send it. A password manager encrypts your data whenever you try to send it to someone else, preventing cybercriminals from intercepting and stealing it.
How To Protect Your Social Security Number With Keeper®
The best way to protect your Social Security number online is with a password manager. A password manager securely stores your Social Security number in an encrypted vault that can only be accessed with a strong master password. It protects your online accounts with access to your Social Security number and allows you to safely send your Social Security number encrypted over the internet, if necessary.
Keeper Password Manager is protected by zero-trust security and zero-knowledge encryption. This prevents unauthorized users from accessing your personal information and ensures that only you are allowed to access your vault. Sign up for a free trial of Keeper Password Manager to protect your Social Security number online.
