You are responsible for the
privacy of your personal identity.
Unfortunately, there are individuals that make their living by stealing the identity of innocent people and opening fraudulent charge accounts in their name. They then rack up thousands of dollars in purchases before moving on to their next victim. These thieves usually obtain this information from your mail or discarded documents, i.e. credit applications, bank statements, insurance statements. To minimize this risk it is a good practice to destroy (shred) all discarded documents containing any personal information.
You must limit the amount of personal information you divulge to others in the course of your transactions.
There are only 3 agencies which, by law, you are required to submit your social security number to. They are: the Internal Revenue Service (I.R.S.), your employer and your health insurance carrier. In all other instances it is your choice to volunteer your social security number to complete a transaction. Since it is not always in your best interest to provide your social security number upon request, ask for the necessity of supplying this information.
*Note: The company or agency requesting your social security number has the right to decline the extension of credit or services to you if you choose not to provide them with this information.
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