WHY DO YOU NEED MY SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER?

A Special Word About Social Security Numbers

Your employer and financial institutions will need your SSN for wage and tax reporting purposes. Other businesses may ask you for your SSN to do a credit check if you are applying for a loan, renting an apartment, or signing up for utilities. Sometimes, however, they simply want your SSN for general record keeping. If someone asks for your SSN, ask:

• Why do you need my SSN?
• How will my SSN be used?
• How do you protect my SSN from being stolen?
• What will happen if I don’t give you my SSN?

If you don’t provide your SSN, some businesses may not provide you with the service or benefit you want. Getting satisfactory answers to these questions will help you decide whether you want to share your SSN with the business. The decision to share is yours.