Considered to be among the most private numbers connected to a person is the Social Security number. It provides access to your credit records and bank accounts as well as identifies you. You could be thinking then if you should provide Experian your SSN or not.
What Is Experian?
Among the three biggest consumer credit reporting companies in the country is Experian. Equifax and TransUnion are the other two credit bureaus. These organizations compile data on individual borrowing and repayment performance and provide that data to credit reference lists for use by credit grantors and other authorized users.
Among the biggest credit datasets available worldwide is Experian's CCJs database. It keeps credit history data for more than 220 million American individuals as well as for more than 25 million American companies. Banks, mortgage lenders, credit card issuers, insurers, companies, and others evaluate credit applications and provide credit using these tools.
Why Experian Asks for Your Social Security Number
Applying for credit or any service requiring the provider to get your credit data will ask for your SSN to obtain your credit records from Experian and other credit agencies. They need your SSN to connect your identity to the supplied report data.
Sadly, Experian uses your SSN as the only method of connecting you to your credit history. They will therefore ask for your 9-digit number whether you want to get your free yearly credit reports or whether you register for credit monitoring services.
If you are contesting the data Experian has on your credit report or if you are reporting incidents of identity theft using your information, you also must supply your SSN to Experian.
Is It Safe to Provide My SSN to Experian?
Not always, but most of the time it's OK to supply Experian with a Social Security number. Here are some reasons:
- Being a long-standing, large corporation, Experian cannot afford to jeopardize the confidence of its customers because it has a lengthy history in the business. It stands to gain from you making sure your data stays private.
- Using improved encryption techniques guarantees that data including SSNs is stored and sent securely by Experian. This helps greatly to guarantee that the knowledge is not easily available to other persons or sources.
- They verify identities using user authentication including knowledge-based verification questions. This ensures that only the appropriate persons may see your credit records.
- On Experian's website, they stress that your SSN will only be used for the generation of your credit reports and credit scores—that is, for the reason for which you supplied it. They also never reveal SSNs to any other outside organizations or third parties.
- Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Experian—which comes under the category of consumer credit reporting agencies—is required to guarantee the privacy and security of the customer data it records.
What Are the Risks?
Although Experian keeps your data safe, no firm data system is perfect against a hacker. Over the last 15 years, every one of the three primary credit agencies has suffered significant data leaks mostly related to technology.
In a few instances seen to have happened at Experian and other companies, hackers have been able to access credit report information including SSNs and other customer data. Still, following a significant hack, optimal identity protection services—which may be utilized to preserve customer identities—are often provided free of charge to the client.
The second danger is the likelihood of mistakes or internal misuse of valid information access within Experian. Still, the business has internal policies to stop and track unethical activity among staff members.
In essence, while providing an SSN is not very dangerous, the advantages usually outweigh the possible drawbacks. Simply keep in mind to activate the free credit monitoring tools offered by Experian every time a breach is announced. Monitoring the data helps as it might highlight possible fraudulent account openings.
The Bottom Line
Whether you trust the organization or not, sharing any information with businesses always has certain dangers. However, Experian relies on this policy to keep your information secure and protect your SSN under legal requirements. Indeed, giving them your Social Security number when necessary to check your credit record and the reporting services is usually secure. Still, one should be careful to periodically review their credit record to make sure they are in good shape.
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