It is a good idea to freeze your balance. But not only because of Dog

The Ministry of Treasury granted the Ministry of Government Efficiency Ilon Musk Access to its payment systems This week, the decision to attract large sums of criticism from federal, legislators and citizens.

The agreement to follow a lawsuit filed by a group of federal employee unions temporarily suspended the sharing of sensitive data with Doug so that the judge can hear legal arguments, According to Reuters.

Dogs have already received an arrival of “reading only” to the closet spending on tax recovers, federal scholarships and programs like Social SecurityMedicare, Medicaid and more. Prosecutor Musk and Doge argue by illegally searching them. Non -governmental consultative group, which was created across The executive order for President Donald TrumpI also managed to reach the social security numbers for most of the taxpayers in this process.

This has sparked a lot of gossip on social media platforms such as X and Tiktok about the importance Freeze your creditWith countless American social security numbers, which is likely to be at risk, amid government and politician monitoring, he claims this Doge goes beyond the practices of the applicable cybersecurity And regulations.

As an editor of cybersecurity, I support the Americans who freeze their credit, regardless of the reason.

But there is also the elephant in the room to be recognized: your social security number may actually be exposed.

Why your SSN might be at risk already

There was no data breach related to Doug’s activity – not yet. But there are countless others who have revealed the personal identification data of ordinary people. Last year, there were at least 196 data temperature and more than 860 million The victim’s notifications Posted by companies, according to a new research before Identification Resources Center. The search company penetrated in the background National general data UNITEDHELHELHELH GROUP Change healthcare Detect personal information for hundreds of millions of people alone.

If the Internet criminal is on your social security number, it can cause a lot of damage. For example, they can go out Credit lines In your name or file taxes on your behalf The stealing your tax declaration.

It is also known Targeted crafts, fraud, hunting Via phone, text, or email to strip your money acquired with difficulty or sensitive information. Even some bad actors adopted use Amnesty International to help accelerate efforts And create a new deception like Deep -fake.

How can I protect my identity if my SSN is exposed?

There are many steps that you can take to protect your identity if you are afraid that your social security number has been displayed in data breach or if you want to be proactive.

Freeze your credit reports

Freeze your credit reports with everyone Three major credit offices (Transnion, Experian and Equifax) prevents anyone from opening credit lines in your name. This includes you. So if you want Take the mortgageCar loan or Submit an application for a new credit card While your balance is frozen, you must “solve” or cancel your credit reports first.

Freezing your credit is completely free. I did this myself last year, and I found the process To be very easy. You can also freeze your children’s credit reports, although they will require some additional steps.

Subscribe to protect identity theft

ID theft protection services help monitor your personal data on the dark web network. They are also Monitor your credit reports and bank accounts If you are very lazy so that you don’t do it yourself, which I really like.

Most of the plans come with the insurance of identity theft protection and white glove recovery services. The latter means that a dedicated restoration specialist will deal with most of the normal works in restoring your identity, including Providing disputes with credit offices And contact with various financial institutions.

Plans to steal individual identity The cost anywhere from $ 7 to $ 15, but there are a lot of family options and even packages that are offered to available couples as well. If you are only interested in monitoring your credit report, you can also Consider credit monitoring service.

Lock your social security number

You can Lock your social security number With social security management by phone or by creating an E-Verify account.

Your SSN lock prevents bad actors from collecting government benefits Apply to work in your name. Like your credit freezing, you should remove the lock on your SSN in order to implement these procedures.

Do not hold your social security card

Your social security card should remain in a safe place, perfectly safely safe to know it. Never carry it with you unless it is very necessary.

Do not overcome SSN either

Be careful about what your SSN is revealed. Your SSN is a condition when applying for a job or submitting a tax. But it’s okay to ask anyone to ask about your SSN why they need it. You will not require some common tasks such as obtaining your driving license or applying for the subsidized housing your SSN sharing.