What Can Someone Do With Your Social Security Number?

There’s all sorts of havoc an identity thief could wreak on your life if they have your Social Security number.

An identity thief could:

• Use your Social Security number to open up fraudulent credit card accounts or secure loans in your name, then skip out on paying the bills.
• File a tax return using your Social Security number and steal your refund.
• Use your Social Security number to get a job, which means that person’s employer would report earned income to the IRS using your Social Security number, making it appear like you didn’t report all of your income on your tax return.
• If a thief got access to your health insurance info and your Social Security number, they could get medical care in your name, which is really frightening. For more information about medical identity theft, including steps you can take to help prevent medical identity theft, visit our blog post here.

If you’ve recently lost or had your Social Security card (or number) stolen, read our blog post about “What To Do If You Lose Your Social Security Card.” And if your Social Security card was in a purse or wallet you lost, you should definitely read our post detailing steps you need to be sure and take after you lose your wallet or purse (or if it’s stolen). It’s all spelled out here: “What To Do When You Lose Your Wallet.” There are seven steps you should be sure and take following this type of loss, including a few you might not have thought about.

The bottom line is if your identity has been compromised in any way, now is definitely the time to sign up for LibertyID. According to recent statistics, the average identity theft victim spends upwards of 200 hours repairing the damage. That’s where LibertyID can help. Our subscribers save themselves massive amounts of time and stress by having our service to rely on when something does happen. If your identity is stolen, we assign you a personal recovery advocate who will clean up the mess and restore your identity to pre-event status. Sign up for an annual subscription now and rest easy knowing you’re covered by LibertyID.

Image: Pixabay