Our social security number has been used for a number of different ways daily. The legitimacy of the person or the company we are dealing with becomes the big issue.
Your social security number can be used for other different business transactions. But the fact remains that many people are taking advantage of this scenario and they use your social security number for fraudulent acts.
One example of a business transaction that often requires your social security number is an application for a telecommunication subscription, for instance, a postpaid plan for a mobile phone that you will pay a certain amount every month and you are locked in for a certain period of time. 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.
The call flow starts with a sales pitch that the telemarketer uses to lure you to sign up with the plan that he is offering you. And if you agree to do it, the telemarketer will ask for pieces of personal information like your full name, contact numbers, address and they often ask for two valid IDs, primary and secondary. Routinely, 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.
But how will you know whether the company or the telemarketer who is on the other line is not a scammer or how will you know if you are dealing with a legitimate company or not. It is ok. It’s your right to say no if they ask for your social security number. But if you are really interested with the offer, then you can ask them to call you back so you can check whether they are legit or not.
Also, 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 over the phone.
Tags: insurance, Social Security Search