Finding out your Social Security number was leaked can make your stomach drop. Don\u2019t panic. A leaked SSN is serious. There are concrete things you can do right now to make it much harder for someone to use it.<\/p>\n
Credit freezes are the thing I\u2019d do. They stop creditors from opening accounts in your name until you lift the freeze. That makes a stolen SSN less useful to a thief.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll need to place a freeze with each of the three credit bureaus. It doesn\u2019t cost anything.. You can remove the freeze later when you actually need to apply for credit.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Pull your credit reports through AnnualCreditReport.com. Look closely at accounts because even one strange account deserves attention.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Fraud alerts are another option. I prefer a freeze if your SSN was actually exposed. A freeze is protection. It doesn\u2019t require you to remember to renew it every year.<\/p>\n
This is where you want to be boring. Check your bank and credit card activity regularly. If you see something you don\u2019t recognize contact the company using a phone number from its website or your statement.<\/p>\n
Pay attention to letters about accounts you never opened. An unexpected bill can be the clue that somebody is using your identity.<\/p>\n
Someone with your SSN may also try to file a tax return using your information. If you receive an IRS notice about a return you didn\u2019t file take it seriously.<\/p>\n
You can also get an IRS Identity Protection PIN. It adds another layer of protection when you file your tax return.<\/p>\n
Once your SSN is exposed scams can feel weirdly personal. A caller may know your name or part of your address. Then claim they\u2019re from a bank or government agency.<\/p>\n
Don\u2019t give them your SSN just because they already know some details, about you. Hang up. Contact the organization yourself.<\/p>\n
\u2022 An urgent call asking for your SSN or money? Stop. Government agencies don\u2019t need you to prove yourself by rushing.<\/p>\n
\u2022 A password reset you didn\u2019t request is worth investigating. Especially if it arrives alongside unusual account activity.<\/p>\n
Save the breach notice that told you your SSN was exposed. Keep copies of letters and notes about calls you make. If identity theft actually occurs, having a paper trail makes the next steps much easier.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need to spend your evening obsessing over this. Set up the freeze. Check what already happened. Stay alert for a while.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Finding out your Social Security number was leaked can make your stomach drop. Don\u2019t panic. A leaked SSN is serious….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-learn"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4825"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4825\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4858,"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4825\/revisions\/4858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybx.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}