Protecting Your Social Security Information in the Wake of Breaches
First, it was Equifax in the news, then it was Yahoo hitting the media airwaves, and who can forget Target’s revelations? Now, even fast food chain Sonic has joined the parade. From all that’s been reported, it’s pretty clear that our financial information is not only vulnerable, but poorly protected. Syndicated columnist Michelle Singletary suggests that “When it comes to money, one of the scariest things happening right now is the insecurity of our financial information.”
What to do about it, especially with respect to your Social Security benefits? Ms. Singletary advocates that everyone establish a “my Social Security” account via the SSA website as a means to secure that portal to your personal information. But there’s a bit of a conundrum here, too, in that Social Security uses a third-party “identity services provider” (believe it or not, it’s Equifax) as part of the set-up process, and if you’ve already frozen your credit files (as many folks have) Social Security has no way to electronically confirm your information. But don’t despair, you can still accomplish the account set-up process by visiting your local office in person.
Read Ms. Singletary’s www.washingtonpost.com article here for more information…