How to Safeguard Your SSN. The Better Business Bureau advises consumers not to enter their Social Security number online or give it out in an email or over the phone. Ask if there are other forms of identification that are acceptable, or whether you can use the last four digits of your Social Security number.
Is it safe to enter SSN on phone?
Don’t enter your SSN into your phone, laptop, or other devices. It would be rare for you to need your card. Typically, reciting the number is all that’s required. Keep the number in your head and the card locked up at home.
When do you have to give your Social Security number?
(But the Privacy Act of 1974 requires all government agencies to disclose whether submitting your number is required and how it will use the information.) If you initiate a cash transaction totaling more than $10,000, you must provide your Social Security number so that the transaction can be reported to the IRS.
Where do you Never give Your Social Security number?
Anybody who approaches you on the street, whether it’s a cell phone company salesman offering a free T-shirt or someone running a voter registration campaign: Never, ever give your SSN. If you want an ill-fitting T-shirt festooned with corporate logos, buy one. If you want to register to vote, go to your county board of elections in person.
What to do if someone asks for your Social Security card?
If they call, check the credit or debit card that is the subject of the communication, call the customer service number listed on the back, and ask for the security department. If they email or text, do the same, or go directly to the institution’s website (provided you know who they are).
When to run away from your Social Security number?
If your doctor, gym, or child’s grade school claims otherwise, that their security systems can protect your private data better than the CIA, FBI and Scotland Yard, to quote Monty Python: “Run away!” Your identity is your biggest asset, and your Social Security number is the key to your personal kingdom.