The Most Dangerous Form of ID Theft

A lot of attention is given to credit or debit card theft. Consumers are constantly worried about people stealing their account information and taking all of their hard earned money. More and more people are becoming vigilant about checking their credit card and bank account statements each month. But those people who think they are doing all the right things to protect themselves might be leaving themselves vulnerable to another, much more serious, form of identity theft. Social security number theft could wind up being much more costly than its credit or debit counterparts.

What is Social Security Number Theft Exactly?

Social security number theft occurs when someone steals your social security number and uses it for their gain. This can take on two forms. They can use that number and pretend to be you during financial transactions. Or they can use your number as if it were their own. Both cases spell trouble for the real owner of the number and significant consequences will result.

The most important thing to realize about social security fraud is that once your social security number has been compromised, it will always be compromised. You cannot change social security numbers like you can bank account numbers. The number you are assigned belongs to you for life. You will need to closely monitor your number for the rest of your life. That is why it is wise to begin monitoring the number before anything ever happens to it. Being proactive can save you a lot of time, hassle and personal expense.

What a Thief Can Do With Your Number

There are mainly five areas of concern when it comes to social security fraud.

1. Someone can open new credit or utilities in your name. That’s right. With your name and social security number, any person can obtain new credit (in the form of a credit card, a mortgage or an auto loan) or open utility accounts. Since identity thieves never pay on the accounts they open, they spend freely and live the high life until the unpaid accounts go into collections and creditors begin coming after the real you. In some of the worst cases, identity thieves have taken out several mortgages and opened numerous credit cards in someone else’s name. Certain documented cases even report that these things have been done with the names and social security numbers of children or deceased people.

2. A thief can gain employment in your name and fail to pay taxes on earnings. Illegal immigrants often come to the United States to create a better life for themselves. But without a social security card they aren’t able to obtain legitimate or gainful employment. So many of them of them purchase stolen social security numbers on the black market to be used solely for the purpose of obtaining employment. In some cases, the immigrants don’t even know the name of the person whose number they stole. Once they get a job, they use their own name with a stolen social security number. Since the social security office refuses to verify who a number really belongs to, employers have no real way of knowing whether numbers are authentic or not. While employed, these identity thieves usually fail to pay taxes. But their employers report their earnings to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) using the social security number they have on file. In many cases the legitimate tax refunds earned by identity theft victims are withheld to pay “unpaid taxes on unreported income”. If no refund was due, the victim will receive a bill for unpaid taxes from the IRS.

3. Identity thieves can also use stolen social security numbers to obtain false identification and commit crimes. Armed with your name and social security number, identity thieves are able to obtain identification documents like drivers’ licenses or passports. If they engage in other criminal activity and are caught, their bad behavior can go on your record. If this rap sheet is discovered you could be arrested or fired from your job due to a criminal history you didn’t create.

4. Armed with your social security number, someone can obtain medical care in your name. This is one of the scariest forms of social security fraud because it could be potentially life threatening. A thief, who knows he or she needs a costly medical procedure or prescription, can admit him or herself to a hospital under your name and seek medical care. Then he or she will skip out on paying the medical bills, having them sent to you instead. But that’s not the worst of it. Your medical record would then contain incorrect information about blood type, drug allergies and procedures you have had done. If the identity thief lives in an area where you live or happen to be traveling to, and you face a life threatening situation, you may be administered the wrong drugs or blood type which could result in your death.

5. Due to social security number theft you could wind up having your wages garnished to pay someone else’s alimony or child support or being penalized for his or her bankruptcy. If someone has stolen your social security number and submits that number to the court in a divorce case, you could be held responsible if he or she defaults on paying court-ordered child support or alimony. In fact, the court could even contact your employer and instruct them to have your wages garnished. This is especially common in cases where the identity thief has stolen not only a victim’s social security number, but his or her name as well. If someone files bankruptcy in your name, your credit record could also be destroyed due to the negative impact of the filing. And you may lose credit that has been extended to you or be forced to pay higher interest rates.

How You Find Out if Your Number Has Been Compromised

Finding out whether your social security number has been compromised can be tougher than spotting fraud on existing credit or bank accounts. You can begin by checking your credit report to see if someone else has opened any new credit in your name. If they have used your name and your social security number to open an account that account will appear on this report. But, if someone has opened a fraudulent account with your social security number and a different name, it can take years for the social security office to match the numbers and attach the fraudulent account to your credit file. By the time it is attached, the account will most likely be delinquent.

If someone has obtained employment using your social security number, but hasn’t opened any credit or utility accounts in your name, then you might not ever find out about it unless the IRS withholds your tax refund or bills you for unpaid taxes.

However, there is one product that might be able to help you keep a close eye on your social security number. ID Secure might greatly increase your peace of mind as well as the level of protection guarding your identity. For just $1 for the first month, and $12.99 a month after that, a professional identity monitoring company will use advanced web crawling technology to search the internet and public records to make sure that your social security number, credit and ATM cards and other personal information isn’t being fraudulently used in any way. ID Secure makes sure your identity is being monitored 24 hours a day seven days a week helping to keep it safe. If fraudulent activity is suspected, you will be informed immediately. You can learn more by clicking here.

In your efforts to protect yourself from becoming a victim of identity theft make sure you aren’t overlooking social security number theft. Having your social security number stolen could be far worse than a hit to your checking or credit card account. Protect yourself on all fronts. It’s your social security number. Don’t let anyone else use it.