Is It Wise to Freeze Your Social Security Number
Here is a list of your important numbers and your SSN is one of your most private numbers. This can be used in the opening of financial accounts, getting loans, checking credit reports, and filing tax returns among others. Given just how much of your life your SSN ties into, it’s incredibly important to protect it as much as possible.
Many people attempt to secure their social security number in a certain way, and this is done through ‘freezing’ it. This helps to ensure that nobody gets a chance to use your number to open new accounts or even access your existing accounts. However, the decision to freeze your Social Security number also has certain disadvantages that you should get to know.
How Does The Process of Social Security Number Freezes Operate
When you freeze your Social Security, number it is similar to putting a freeze on credit reports that is used by the credit reporting agencies. A frozen SSN is when an individual asks the three main credit reporting agencies to refrain from using his or her SSN to open new accounts unless they thaw the number. This is useful to this end since the thieves cannot use the number to open fake accounts in your name.
To freeze your Social Security number, you have to get in touch with each of the three Credit Reporting Agencies which are Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. The sorts of freezes with each bureau have to be processed individually. This is completed on an organization timetable once the freeze is requested, and it takes one to three business days. It is in force as long as no one asks for the freeze to be lifted or removed, at least temporarily.
If you have to make a change in your account such as opening a new account or using an existing account that was frozen due to your Social Security number, then you would need to thaw the freeze. You can lift the freeze for a certain period, or a particular entity in question. It is good to note that there might be charges that are levied on any act that involves the temporary unlocking of Social Security numbers.
Freezing Your Social Security Number Pros and Cons
- Identity theft prevention- By freezing your SSN, you can ensure that identity thieves do not get a hold of this number and use it to their benefit. This prevents them from using your number to open other unauthorized accounts or even access your other accounts. This can prevent identity theft in its track or reduce the amount of loss that an identity thief can cause.
- Medical identity theft – The second common form of identity theft is when identity thieves seek to utilize your SSN to access medical services. This may affect your health insurance, medical records, and others. Another option for shielding yourself from medical identity theft is to freeze your Social Security number.
- Peace of mind – In the same way that people like to know that their doors and cars are securely locked, so we have the peace of mind that our Social Security number is not easily accessible to just anyone. They can afford not to worry about the number being used to obtain loans or credit cards in their back. The freeze takes away the ability to control the external forces and returns it to the individual.
The main disadvantage of freezing your Social Security number is that you are limiting the usage of your Social Security number to only the necessary tasks.
- Interference with the use of accounts – Experiencing a freeze on your Social Security number may sometimes interfere with your usage of the various accounts you have in the future and this will be especially so especially if you forget that you have a freeze on your number. This freeze may require to be lifted each time that you wish to check personal details with the company through the phone or over the Internet. This can be tiresome and time-consuming especially when one is in a rush to complete other tasks.
- It costs money – Every credit bureau could charge for placing a freeze, lifting a freeze for a short time, and removing a freeze completely. Preauthorized amounts are also between ten dollars and vary depending on how often you want to access your accounts, freeze fees are usually in the same range. Compare fees across bureaus.
- Does not prevent all identity theft – Although the methods of Social Security number freeze can help in preventing the opening of new accounts in your name, it does not shield you from all types of identity theft. Essentially, your old accounts might be invaded by the criminals, your tax returns might be filed by the criminals or an attempt might be made by the criminals to get some benefits from the government using your details.
Alternative Options to Consider
- Credit freezes – Similar to Social Security number freeze it does not block offers or prevent accounts from being opened but it stops most uses of credit reports for new credit accounts and does not interfere with access to existing accounts. In the event you are not expecting to seek new credit soon, a credit freeze is a form of protection without suffering from the disadvantage of having to lift the freeze now and then.
- Fraud alerts – This gives you some of the benefits of having accounts open but also lets the credit bureau know of certain activity that you deem suspicious. This is because any time your SSN is used to open an account, apply for credit, or change the contact information, the credit bureau will try to contact you to verify those changes.
- Identity theft protection services – In identity theft, a comprehensive solution protects the individual by alerting him/her when their details are utilized in opening accounts or accessing services. Protection services notify their clients when they observe any wrongdoing and also offer identity recovery services in case, the worst has happened and the client has been signed to the list of identity theft criminals.
Do the Benefits Outweigh the Costs of ‘Freezing’ Your Number?
If you still have concerns about identity thieves being able to obtain your number, then freezing your Social Security number is a very sound method to safeguard your identity and money. But each person is an individual and has different conditions. If the program of freezing Social Security numbers is going to yield you significant troubles and frequent fees, then there are some other ways of protecting your accounts and personal data. Discuss the benefits and drawbacks of freezing your social security number and what to do if you want to do it. It will allow you to decide on how much protection you would like to have on your phone and how easily you want to reach the desired app.
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