Q & A
Who are you required to give your Social Security Number to?
Answer: Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is offering guidelines to clear up confusion about when consumers are legally required to provide a Social Security number – and when they are not. Utilities, financial institutions and private businesses use Social Security numbers for identity verification and filing systems, purposes for which the numbers were never intended. Social Security numbers can be obtained through data breaches, and theft, and online and telephone scams, stolen mail, wallets and purses, unsecured internet sites, business records or papers at home or in the trash. They also can be bought from someone who has access to personal information at a business. A stolen SSn enables a criminal to create a new identity, apply for credit or a mortgage and even use the victim’s identity if arrested.
According to the Social Security Administration (SSA), consumers are obliged to provide their number for tax returns and federal loans, credit applications, government programs, financial institutions, employers and the Department of Motor Vehicles. Social Security numbers are also required to obtain reports through the credit reporting companies. Read more.
This posting is presented for informational purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. Any opinions or interpretations presented are either those of the original author or, in the case of articles authored by the AMAC Foundation, are the opinions of AMAC Foundation staff, originally trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA) and certified via the AMAC Foundation. Any links included in the article are valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the links’ validity. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (https://amacfoundation.org/services/) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org. Because we are a non-profit organization, there is no charge for these services.