Your Social Security number is a crucial piece of personal information. It’s used for everything from getting a new job to securing lines of credit, making it a prime target for identity thieves. This nine-digit number is linked to health benefits, taxes and more. As we see major breaches happen more and more often, protecting your SSN is more important than ever.
You can pay for monitoring, but there is a tougher, free line of defense you control: Lock your SSN and pair it with a credit freeze. Blocking electronic access to your number makes it much harder for criminals to pass employment checks or open accounts in your name, and a freeze stops new credit even if someone has your details. There’s also the option of an identity protection service if you want extra assurance.
It adds a little friction to your life but if you have dealt with identity theft or your information was caught in a breach, that extra barrier can prevent real damage.
Don’t miss any of our unbiased tech content and lab-based reviews. Add CNET as a preferred Google source.
How to lock your Social Security number
There are two ways to block access to your Social Security number.
Call the Social Security Administration
You can contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. Wait times are usually shorter in the morning and later in the week. Once you confirm your identity, the SSA will wave its magic wand and block electronic access to your SSN.
Create an E-Verify account
You can also create a MyE-Verify online account to lock your SSN and use the service’s self-lock feature. The lock will last one year. But you’ll be alerted 30 days before it expires and you can extend the lock if you choose.
This resource comes in handy because many employers use E-Verify, a service administered by the SSA and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, to check your employment eligibility.
When you lock your Social Security number, a company looking to verify your SSN won’t be able to verify your identity, stopping criminals from committing fraud. This option is also handy if you don’t want to pick up the phone every time you want to unlock your SSN.
The downside of locking your SSN
The main drawback to locking your SSN will sound very familiar to anyone who has a credit freeze in place. When you block access to your SSN records, you also restrict your access to it. This means you’ll have to go through the hassle of unlocking it whenever you need a new employer to verify your eligibility to work in the US or you want to receive government benefits.
This back and forth may be worth it to individuals who have suffered from employment identity theft and tax fraud. For added protection against tax identity theft, you can create an identity protection pin with the IRS to prevent someone else from filing a tax return with your SSN or individual taxpayer identification number.
What’s the difference between locking your SSN and a credit freeze?
A credit freeze is different from a Social Security number lock, though both are free. One blocks access to your Social Security record online while a credit freeze restricts access to your credit reports. To conduct a credit freeze, you’ll need to contact all three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion) to stop anyone from creating credit accounts in your name.
Will locking my SSN protect me from identity theft?
The answer here is pretty unsatisfying: It might. Locking your Social Security number can prevent employment identity theft or stop a criminal from collecting government benefits in your name. But it won’t prevent all forms of ID theft. As an added precaution, you should share your Social Security number only when it is absolutely necessary and never on an unprompted call or text message.
It’s also a good idea to monitor your financial accounts and your credit reports for any unusual activity. If you’d prefer to have a service do this for you, you can sign up for a credit monitoring service or an ID theft protection service. You can often enroll in credit monitoring to keep an eye on your credit reports. ID theft protection often includes credit monitoring as well as dark web monitoring and alerts if your information is compromised in a data breach. If your identity is compromised, identity theft protection can help you recover it through white glove restoration services.
For extra security, you can freeze your credit with Experian, TransUnion and Equifax to prevent identity thieves from opening new lines of credit in your name, like a mortgage or a car loan. I did this recently and found the process surprisingly easy.
More advice on protecting your identity
Read the full article here