Victim of Identity Theft?

You can change your Social Security Number as a last resort

The Consumerist, an online resource for smart consumers and self-proclaimed “blog biased towards the consumer”, recently responded to one concerned American’s question, “Can I change my Social Security Number?” here.

The post (reprinted below) elicited an interesting comment thread from interested readers on the Consumerist. What do you think of this policy?

Concerned about a recent incident in which his wife’s social security number may have been exposed (by a Bank of America employee, but that’s another story), Christian wants to know if you can change your social security number. In special circumstances, yes, the Social Security Administration will change your number. You need to show proof that 1) you’ve suffered harm from someone misusing your SS# and 2) you’ve made all reasonable efforts to otherwise solve the problem i.e. credit report freezes, closing accounts and changing account numbers, etc. If both of these apply, then you can simply visit your local SSA office, call, or visit www.ssa.gov/reach.htm.