[PugMom]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

I've always avoided sites like the above. A good way for someone to get my PII would be to take advantage of fear after a publicized breach to convince me to give it to them. "Worried your SSN might have been exposed? Fill in your full name and birth date then hit Submit."

The site above might be totally legitimate but personally, I would not provide that information.

a major thumbs up for you, Sir,...dittos

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Correct. So, if a lender relies on a SSN to approve a loan, the lender is being stupid and irresponsible, not the person whose SSN was compromised. I would be happy to get a new SSN, but it is not possible. Why would a competent financial company ever rely on a SSN for identification or for any legal or financial transaction?

You would prefer to be able to walk up and say, "Hi, my name is John Smith and I would like a loan please?"

A bank is also not likely to give me a loan if I only provide them with a SSN.

However, they might be more willing to if I give them a name and birth date, show them a Govt issued ID with the same name and birth date plus a picture that matches my face, and give them a SSN that they look up and can match to both the name and the birth date.

An SSN is not a golden ticket to a loan, an SSN is a key field in a database to store and retrieve financial history used to qualify for a loan.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

You would prefer to be able to walk up and say, "Hi, my name is John Smith and I would like a loan please?"

A bank is also not likely to give me a loan if I only provide them with a SSN.

However, they might be more willing to if I give them a name and birth date, show them a Govt issued ID with the same name and birth date plus a picture that matches my face, and give them a SSN that they look up and can match to both the name and the birth date.

An SSN is not a golden ticket to a loan, an SSN is a key field in a database to store and retrieve financial history used to qualify for a loan.

Personally, I think banks, medical facilities, and other institutions use SSNs because the Federal Government requires them to. Otherwise, I don't think they would. They would use a more secure system. I haven't borrowed or lent money in more than 40 years, so I really don't know much about loans.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Personally, I think banks, medical facilities, and other institutions use SSNs because the Federal Government requires them to. Otherwise, I don't think they would. They would use a more secure system. I haven't borrowed of lent money in more than 40 years, so I really don't know much about loans.

.... In the previous post I left out any mention of online activity where a person is not present. Only once have I had a site ask me for a picture of my ID and a photo of myself so they could check that the name matched the ID and matched the person providing it. Online activity is hard to secure in a world where all your information is known.

What would be a more secure system? Some form of biometrics might work but that would require a central database storing your fingerprint, face, or other identifying information. There are certainly some who will push back against that just like they would push back against a National ID card.

Two-factor ID helps but only works if you happen to have your phone with you. Plus, some systems are now requiring an authentication app on your phone which needs to be installed correctly, authenticated correctly at installation, integrated with the other apps on your phone, and used correctly - what could possibly go wrong there?

Something more secure is needed but not easy to come by.

[oneclickplus]

Originally Posted by Skip

Yup! Never type in your SS# into ANY website.

Skip

You post in ignorance without checking things out. The site does NOT ask for your SSN (even partially). All it does is confirm if your information was part of the data breach. So don't do it. Ignore this data breach and don't check and don't freeze your credit accounts. You will then be a sitting duck for ID fraud as the data breach had enough information in it to allow anyone to pretend to be your and basically take over your financial life.

[Maker]

Originally Posted by Bill14564

Two-factor ID helps but only works if you happen to have your phone with you. Plus, some systems are now requiring an authentication app on your phone which needs to be installed correctly, authenticated correctly at installation, integrated with the other apps on your phone, and used correctly - what could possibly go wrong there?

Phone gets lost.
New phone without validated authenticator = no access

[oldtimes]

Originally Posted by bp243

Interesting idea!! How is that done and has it inconvenienced you in any way?

Since I have no intention of seeking employment or needing a loan it has not inconvenienced me in the least. Here is how to do it. Self Lock | E-Verify