Whether you’re applying for a job, filing a tax return, or opening a new credit card account, you usually need to enter your Social Security Number. But if that nine-digit number is exposed in a data breach, it can be difficult to recover from the damage.

Identity thieves who get their hands on your SSN can also use it to find a job in your nameaccumulate credit card debt against your credit score and to steal your tax refund.

To stop cybercriminals in their tracks, you may want to lock your Social Security number.

Restricting electronic access to your SSN may seem inconvenient and extreme. But if you’ve been a victim of identity theft or your personally identifiable information was compromised in a recent data breach, like the hack of Changing healthcare Or National public dataLocking your SSN could protect you from future harm.

Blocking access or “locking” your SSN will make it extremely difficult for an identity thief to use your SSN for malicious purposes. This, along with a credit freeze, can help thwart identity thieves and protect your identity.

Learn more: Social Security November 2024: here’s when to expect your check

How to Lock Your Social Security Number

There are two ways to block access to your Social Security number.

Call the Social Security Administration.

You can contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. local time, Monday to Friday. Wait times are generally shorter in the morning and later in the week.

Once you confirm your identity, the SSA will wave its magic wand and block electronic access to your SSN number.

Create an E-Verify account

You can also create a MyE-Verify online account to lock your SSN and use the service self-locking function. The lock will last one year. But you will be alerted 30 days before it expires and you can extend the lock if you wish.

This resource is useful because many employers use E-Verify, a service administered by the SSA and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to verify your employment eligibility. When you lock your Social Security number, a company looking to verify your SSN will not be able to verify your identity.

This option is also convenient if you don’t want to pick up the phone every time you want to unlock your SSN.

The Downside of Locking Your SSN

The main downside to locking your SSN will sound very familiar to anyone with a credit freeze in place. When you block access to your SSN records, you also restrict access to them from yourself.

This means you’ll have to go to the trouble of unlocking it every time you need a new employer to verify your eligibility to work in the United States or want to receive government benefits.

This back and forth may be worth it for people who have suffered from professional identity theft and tax fraud. For additional protection against tax identity theft, you can create a identity protection pin with the IRS to prevent someone else from filing a tax return with your SSN or individual taxpayer identification number.

What is the difference between locking your SSN and a credit freeze?

A credit freeze is different from a Social Security number lock – although both are free. One blocks access to your Social Security file online while a credit freeze cancels access to your credit reports.

HAS freeze credityou’ll need to contact the three major credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) to prevent anyone from setting up new credit accounts in your name.

Will locking my SSN protect me from identity theft?

The answer here is rather unsatisfactory: it is possible. Locking your Social Security number can prevent professional identity theft or prevent a criminal from collecting government benefits in your name. But it won’t prevent all forms of identity theft.

As an added precaution, you should only share your Social Security number when absolutely necessary and never during a spontaneous call or text.

It’s also a good idea to monitor your financial accounts and credit reports for any unusual activity. If you prefer to have a service do this for you, you can sign up for one credit monitoring service or a Identity theft protection service. You can often sign up for credit monitoring to keep tabs on your credit reports. Identity theft protection often includes credit monitoring as well as dark web monitoring and alerts if your information is compromised in a data breach. If your identity is compromised, identity theft protection can help you get it back with white glove restoration services.

For added security, you can freeze your credit with Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax to prevent identity thieves from opening new lines of credit in your name. I did this recently and found the process surprisingly easy.

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