Social Security Number Abuse

If you believe that your Social Security number is being used in some illegal fashion, you need to contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of the Inspector General.  They can then begin to look into the situation for you and resolve any problems.

Here is the contact information for Inspector General.  Visit online at www.socialsecurity.gov/oig, call them at 1-800-269-0271, or write them at:

SSA Fraud Hotline
P.O. Box 17768
Baltimore, MD 21235
Phone: 1-800-269-0271
Fax: 410-597-0118

On your part, you can request to receive a copy of your Social Security Statement or get a new Social Security number to replace the one that was lost or stolen.  Be sure to keep copies of any paperwork for your own records in case proof of identity is needed in the future.

There are a few things that the SSA does not cover and therefore you should contact them about.  This includes: questions about your social security account or ordering a new number, reporting medical fraud, reporting the use of your SSN being used to commit other frauds.

When contacting the Hotline, try to know the following information: who committed the frauds, who are the victims, what did the suspect do, where did the fraud take place, how did it happen, what was the motive, is there anyone else who knows of the violation?

You can remain confidential if you feel you would be endangering yourself be revealing your identity.  Once the fraud has been reported, you are not allowed by law to find out the status of the developing case.  Everything will remain classified, and you will be notified of the resolution once everything is over.

If everything has been done as outlined above, and someone continues to use your SSN, then a new card and number may be issued to you.  You will need proof of your age, citizenship in the U.S., and evidence that you are still suffering misuse from someone using your SSN.  

Be aware that getting a new number may not solve all your problems.  There are a multitude of businesses that will still have your old number which may cause conflict in certain transactions.  It may also make things difficult because there will be no line of credit under your new number.  Just don’t go out trying to get a new number before attempting every possible channel to retrieve your stolen number.