Changing Your Social Security Number after Identity Theft
One of the biggest questions on consumer’s minds when they fall victim to identity theft is whether or not they need to change their social security number. With all of the damages to an individual’s reputation and credit, it is a tempting thing to consider, but it should be noted that changing your social security number can cause just as many problems as it can resolve.
History Loss
By changing your social security number, you lose all of your credit history. That means the good and the bad. Naturally you want to lose the negative history from the identity theft, but what about the other credit history you have built over the years?
Number Change Difficulty
Changing a social security number is not as easy as walking into the Social Security Administration and filling out a form. You have to prove to the SSA that you have suffered a hardship due to identity theft and this includes using documented proof of such. You are also required to show that you have attempted to resolve the identity theft prior to requesting the number change.
Changing with Others
Once your social security number is changed, a consumer then has to change their social security number with banks, credit cards and any other company that uses their social security number on their accounts.
The Old Number is Still There
Many consumers assume that if they change social security numbers, the old one simply disappears. This is actually untrue. In fact, the old social security number then attaches itself to the consumers’ new social security number so that an individual does not lose their retirement benefits. So from there on out when a consumer tries to access new credit, creditors will see that there is an old social security number linked to a new one.