Protecting Your Identity is Important to Us
Reading Time: 1 MinuteLast Updated: October 19, 2021
We’re committed to protecting your identity. It’s an unfortunate reality that guarding against the release of your personal information sometimes becomes a necessity. We can help.
In certain instances – like for victims of domestic violence – you may want to block access to your electronic Social Security record. You can request a block by calling us toll-free 1-800-772-1213 or at our TTY number at 1-800-325-0778, if you’re deaf or hard of hearing.
Once you request it, we’ll block any automated telephone and electronic access to your Social Security record. No one, including you, will be able to see or change your personal information on our website or through our automated telephone service. If you change your mind in the future, you can call us and ask us to unblock it after you prove your identity.
In most cases, your Social Security number stays the same for your lifetime. When you show evidence of being harassed, abused, or your life is endangered, we can assign you a new one.
For more information, please read our publication, New Social Security Numbers for Domestic Violence Victims. You can also check out our post, 10 Ways to Protect Your Personal Information for ways to help us safeguard your information.
Please share this information with your family and friends – and post it on social media.
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Tags: fraud, online services, scams
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Dawn Bystry, Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
Deputy Associate Commissioner, Office of Strategic and Digital Communications
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SB
Hello. I was approved to payback the Social Security benefits I’ve already received, after I withdrew my original application (which was approved by SSA). However, the only method to pay back SSA is sending a paper check or money order through the US mail via a pre-paid business reply envelope that they provided me with their approval letter. I’m not comfortable sending a check via the US mail and would rather pay the money back electronically via Pay.gov, but that process requires a remittance number which was not provided to me as a option. Are there other options to this outdated, archaic and unsafe process for returning money to SSA?
A.C.
Hi, SB. Thanks for visiting our blog. call us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday through Friday, between 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., for assistance. You can also contact your local Social Security office. We hope this helps.