Transactions Requiring Social Security Numbers

Social security numbers have been used in many different transactions daily. The problem now becomes finding out whether we are actually dealing with a legitimate person or company or not.

Many business transactions involve our social security number. Because of this scenario, many unscrupulous individuals are exploiting this to their advantage and they resort to stealing our numbers for their personal gain.

Applying for a postpaid plan for a mobile phone is an example of a transaction that the person in charge asks for our ssn. This kind of transaction requires the one who subscribes to pay a certain amount every month and usually, a contract is involved – 1 year or 2 years perhaps depending on the dealings. This transaction usually happens over the phone where in an individual will receive a phone call, more commonly known as a telemarketing call, asking them to sign up for a postpaid plan.

What usually happens over the phone is you can hear a sales pitch about a mobile phone. And if you agree to do it, the telemarketer will ask for pieces of information like your full name, contact numbers, address and they often ask for two valid IDs, primary and secondary. More often than not, they only accept social security number as your primary identification and for secondary ID they give you options like driver’s license, company ID and others.

How will we find out whether we are dealing with a legitimate individual who is on the other line? How will we know that he is not one of those corrupt individuals who are just waiting to take advantage of those unsuspecting persons? Keep in mind that it’s your right to say no if they ask for your social security number. But if you are really fascinated with the offer, then you can ask them to call you back so you can check whether they are legit or not.

In your social security number card you can find a toll free number and you can call that number in case you have questions about the things to consider before giving out your social security number, especially those transactions that occur over the phone.