Did something stupid...what do I do?

adejaan

I know this was a stupid thing to do, so please don't yell at me. I got a call from an 800 number 800-848-0981. I didn't answer, but they left a message saying they were calling from the U.S. Department of Education...FUCK. They've called me before and I googled the number and realized they might have been a scam service, but forgot all about it, so I called them, they asked for my social security number and I gave it to them...am I fucked? What do I do?

MetroidZoid

First thing is to calm down, get your head on straight. Can't undo what already happened.

I think the first thing you're going to want / have to do is put a hold on your credit. Unfortunately I don't know how to do that, hopefully another forumer can tell you how.

RUNN1NGMAN

Call the credit agencies to put a hold on all credit requests/applications.

Keep a close eye on your credit reports.

Let your banks, most likely they have some added measures to put in place like some sort of secondary verification of your identity so that the scammer can't do anything to your bank accounts.

DekuStick

Police report of someone stealing your SIN and start working on getting a new one. And yeah make sure your funds are in order.

Sir Red of the Manti

Give this a good read.

This too.

adejaan

Thank you...

Okay, I calmed down a little bit. I went to Experian and had them put a security freeze on my credit report. I also signed up to view my credit report, just in case, but apparently I have to wait for them to send me something in the mail. Do I have to contact all of the credit agencies?

RUNN1NGMAN

DekuStick wrote: »

Police report of someone stealing your SIN and start working on getting a new one. And yeah make sure your funds are in order.

According to Social Security, requesting a new number is not recommended unless you have proof that someone is out there using it. I don't even think they will let you change it without proof that someone has stolen your ID. Changing your SSN can cause way more problems than it solves.

RUNN1NGMAN

adejaan wrote: »

Thank you...

Okay, I calmed down a little bit. I went to Experian and had them put a security freeze on my credit report. I also signed up to view my credit report, just in case, but apparently I have to wait for them to send me something in the mail. Do I have to contact all of the credit agencies?

I'm 99% sure that once you notify one of the agencies, they are required by law to notify the other two. You can always call them back an check to make sure they are doing that. The mail thing is normal, I think part of the freeze is that you will no longer be able to get your report instantly over the internet.

Voro

This number is actually listed on a .gov website. It's the number for their Payment Center Collections. I think it's safe to not freak out now.

Improvolone

Man, I have given my SSN out so many times in the last few years for random purposes. Odds are nothing will happen, but keep an eye on your credit report for new credit cards.

VisionOfClarity

Voro wrote: »

This number is actually listed on a .gov website. It's the number for their Payment Center Collections. I think it's safe to not freak out now.

Unless he hasn't been paying his loans, then he can continue to freak out.

DekuStick

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

DekuStick wrote: »

Police report of someone stealing your SIN and start working on getting a new one. And yeah make sure your funds are in order.

According to Social Security, requesting a new number is not recommended unless you have proof that someone is out there using it. I don't even think they will let you change it without proof that someone has stolen your ID. Changing your SSN can cause way more problems than it solves.

Oh whoops! I'm stuck in canada mode.

Police report however still stands.

Ketar

Voro wrote: »

This number is actually listed on a .gov website. It's the number for their Payment Center Collections. I think it's safe to not freak out now.

El oh el

Stop freaking out and make your student loan payments, OP.

adejaan

Thanks for all the helpful information...a couple of things I will clarify - I'm female and I'm still in school, so my loans are, as far as I know (since they aren't sending me bills) still in their grace period.

*edit - and when I went to the student loans government web site, they had no information for me so I have no idea what the collections people would be calling me about.

PeregrineFalcon

adejaan wrote: »

Thanks for all the helpful information...a couple of things I will clarify - I'm female and I'm still in school, so my loans are, as far as I know (since they aren't sending me bills) still in their grace period.

Given the time frame (approx. 1 month past school start) and previous experience, I'd say you should double-check that you're still in the grace period. Especially if any forms needed to be filed to extend it, ie. it's in grace period as long as you're still under a full course load, and you to send them proof of enrollment.

adejaan

I will check with my financial aid office...according to what one of the ladies there told me the school would take care of verifying my enrollment with my creditors (aside from one of the loans which I had to contact myself) so I'll have to see if there are some shenanigans going on there...you would think I'd get a bill though.

fightinfilipino

it's a bit irregular for anyone, even a government agency, to just call you out of the blue and ask for your SSN. i wouldn't give that information to anyone who called me and would demand that they not ask for that sort of info in this manner.

Movitz

Just out of curiosity. What could someone do if they knew your SSN. I always hear Americans freak out about this but never understood why?

Dehumanized

Movitz wrote: »

Just out of curiosity. What could someone do if they knew your SSN. I always hear Americans freak out about this but never understood why?

We'll let friend Wikipedia do the talking:

Identity theft

Many citizens and privacy advocates are concerned about the disclosure and processing of Social Security numbers. Furthermore, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated an algorithm which uses publicly available personal information to reconstruct a given SSN.[18]

The SSN is frequently used by those involved in identity theft, since it is interconnected with so many other forms of identification, and because people asking for it treat it as an authenticator. The SSN is generally required by financial institutions to set up bank accounts, credit cards, and obtain loans, partially because it is assumed that no one except the person to whom it was issued will know it.

Exacerbating the problem of using the social security number as an identifier is the fact that the social security card contains no biometric identifiers of any sort, making it essentially impossible to tell whether a person using a certain SSN is truly the person to whom it was issued without relying on some other means of documentation (which may itself have been falsely procured through use of the fraudulent SSN). Congress has proposed federal laws that will restrict the use of SSNs for identification and ban their use for a number of commercial purposes, e.g. rental applications.[19]

The IRS offers alternatives to SSNs in some places where providing untrusted parties with identification numbers is essential. Tax preparers can acquire a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) to include on their client's tax returns (as part of signature requirements). Day care services have tax benefits, and even a sole proprietor should give parents an EIN (employer identification number) to use on their tax return.

The Social Security Administration has suggested that, if asked to provide his or her Social Security number, a citizen should ask which law requires its use.[20]

Identity confusion has also occurred due to the use of local Social Security Numbers by the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Republic of Palau, whose numbers overlap with those of residents of New Hampshire and Maine. [21]

There's basically a lot of direct and indirect ways a SSN can be used to fuck over someone identitywise.

Movitz

Ah ok. The whole concept is based on the fact that ONLY you should know it? I never got that. But then, it's like a secret password....to your life!

Never thought about looking for it on Wikipedia. It seemed too basic to be on there.
The more you know...

SkyCaptain

Movitz wrote: »

Ah ok. The whole concept is based on the fact that ONLY you should know it? I never got that. But then, it's like a secret password....to your life!

Never thought about looking for it on Wikipedia. It seemed too basic to be on there.
The more you know...

Yeah, it's supposed to be "secret", but then every employer needs it and most jobs... the applications just sit in an unlocked filing cabinet. If I had been criminally motivated, I could have acquired hundreds of ssn numbers over the years.

iglidante

My university (University of Maine) used to use SSNs as fucking student ID numbers. If you wanted to order a pizza with your dining funds, you had to give the pizza place your SSN over the phone. It took them YEARS to correct it. I knew all my friends SSNs at one point, and a bunch of them probably knew mine.

Rik

As long as it's not from the FBI, ATF, Homeland Security.

You are OKAY.

Got a cannon in your home? Make sure it's registered.

Peace.

Ganluan

iglidante wrote: »

My university (University of Maine) used to use SSNs as fucking student ID numbers. If you wanted to order a pizza with your dining funds, you had to give the pizza place your SSN over the phone. It took them YEARS to correct it. I knew all my friends SSNs at one point, and a bunch of them probably knew mine.

Hah ASU did the same thing, but they got in deep shit over it and had to quickly change all the cards/IDs.

iglidante

Ganluan wrote: »

iglidante wrote: »

My university (University of Maine) used to use SSNs as fucking student ID numbers. If you wanted to order a pizza with your dining funds, you had to give the pizza place your SSN over the phone. It took them YEARS to correct it. I knew all my friends SSNs at one point, and a bunch of them probably knew mine.

Hah ASU did the same thing, but they got in deep shit over it and had to quickly change all the cards/IDs.

Yeah, UM eventually changed to these 16-digit IDs, and then made it very difficult for you to get takeout with student funds, so the problem went away - but still, it was a dumb idea.

Hypatia

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

DekuStick wrote: »

Police report of someone stealing your SIN and start working on getting a new one. And yeah make sure your funds are in order.

According to Social Security, requesting a new number is not recommended unless you have proof that someone is out there using it. I don't even think they will let you change it without proof that someone has stolen your ID. Changing your SSN can cause way more problems than it solves.

When I had my ID stolen because my college was using our SSNs as our student IDs and printing it on everything, I tried to get my SSN changed and they told me they don't do that--they could issue me a new SSN but that the old one would still be attached to me. They asked if I wanted to do that and I think I said something like, "Wait, so your solution to this is to give me a second SSN so I have double the chance of this happening again? Um, no thanks."

RUNN1NGMAN

Hypatia wrote: »

RUNN1NGMAN wrote: »

DekuStick wrote: »

Police report of someone stealing your SIN and start working on getting a new one. And yeah make sure your funds are in order.

According to Social Security, requesting a new number is not recommended unless you have proof that someone is out there using it. I don't even think they will let you change it without proof that someone has stolen your ID. Changing your SSN can cause way more problems than it solves.

When I had my ID stolen because my college was using our SSNs as our student IDs and printing it on everything, I tried to get my SSN changed and they told me they don't do that--they could issue me a new SSN but that the old one would still be attached to me. They asked if I wanted to do that and I think I said something like, "Wait, so your solution to this is to give me a second SSN so I have double the chance of this happening again? Um, no thanks."

Yeah, it's basically a last resort. I creates a whole host of problems.

adejaan

I do occasionally get creditors calling me looking for someone named "Sheldon" who used to have my cell phone number, so that might explain why the Department of Education is calling me.