Home > Security Guides > What to Do If Your Social Security Number Was Exposed

What to Do If Your Social Security Number Was Exposed

Your Social Security number was exposed in a breach. Follow these verified steps to freeze your credit, block tax fraud and lock your SSN today.

m00s3c
November 1, 2026
November 1, 2026

Your Social Security number is the one piece of personal data you cannot easily replace. When a breach notice says it was exposed, a criminal can try to use it to open credit, file a tax return, claim benefits or get a job in your name. This guide walks you through the 8 steps that close those doors, using the free tools from the FTC, IRS, Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security.

Plan on about 90 minutes to finish every step. Do Steps 1 through 3 today, since they block the most common types of fraud.

What a criminal can do with your SSN

According to the FTC’s IdentityTheft.gov, an identity thief could use your Social Security number to open accounts, take out a loan, file taxes or get a job. Each step below targets 1 of those risks:

New credit: Steps 1 and 2.
Tax refund fraud: Step 3.
Social Security benefits and records: Steps 4 and 5.
Employment fraud: Step 6.

Step 1: Freeze your credit at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion

A credit freeze stops lenders from pulling your credit report, so a criminal cannot open new credit with your SSN. It is free and does not affect your score. Place it at all 3 bureaus:

Equifax: equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze or (888) 298-0045
Experian: experian.com/help/credit-freeze or 1-888-397-3742
TransUnion: transunion.com/credit-freeze or 800-916-8800

Our full guide on how to freeze your credit after a data breach covers how to lift a freeze and how to freeze the specialty bureaus that banks and phone carriers use.

What success looks like: each bureau confirms the freeze on screen or by letter.

Step 2: Accept any free monitoring and check your reports

If the breach letter offers free credit monitoring, enroll before the deadline. IdentityTheft.gov recommends it. Then get your free credit reports from all 3 bureaus at AnnualCreditReport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228. Free weekly reports are permanent, so check them often in the months after the breach.

What success looks like: every account, inquiry and address on your reports belongs to you.

Step 3: Get an IRS Identity Protection PIN

An IP PIN is a 6-digit number that the IRS issues each year. It prevents someone else from filing a tax return using your SSN, and only you and the IRS know it.

Go to the IRS IP PIN page and select Get an IP PIN. You sign in to or create an IRS online account and verify your identity.
Your PIN appears in the IP PIN section of your online account’s profile page. A new PIN is issued each calendar year.
If you cannot verify online, the IRS offers Form 15227 for people under its income limit and in-person verification at a Taxpayer Assistance Center.
Parents and legal guardians can request IP PINs for dependents. Dependents under 18 must use an alternative enrollment option.

What success looks like: you can see your current 6-digit IP PIN on your IRS online account profile page.

Step 4: Create your my Social Security account

Create your account at ssa.gov/myaccount before a criminal tries to create it with your data. Sign in through Login.gov or ID.me. Then review the earnings record on your Social Security Statement. Wages from jobs you never held can mean someone is working under your SSN. The SSA says to report any errors to it.

What success looks like: you can sign in to your account, and every year of earnings matches your real work history.

Step 5: Consider an SSA account block

The SSA’s fraud prevention page describes 2 optional blocks:

eServices block: stops anyone, including you, from seeing or changing your information online.
Direct Deposit Fraud Prevention block: stops anyone, including you, from enrolling in direct deposit or changing your address or deposit details through my Social Security or a financial institution.

To ask about a block, call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Removing either block requires contacting your local office, so it suits people who rarely use SSA online services or who already receive benefits.

What success looks like: the SSA confirms the block is on your record.

Step 6: Lock your SSN in E-Verify

E-Verify is the system employers use to confirm you can work in the United States. Its Self Lock feature flags your SSN if someone tries to use it at an employer that uses E-Verify. Create a myE-Verify account, then turn on Self Lock. The lock stays active while your account is valid, and you can unlock it any time a new employer needs to verify you.

What success looks like: your myE-Verify account shows Self Lock as active.

Step 7: Report misuse right away

If you find signs that someone already used your SSN, act fast:

Any identity theft: report it at IdentityTheft.gov to get a recovery plan and an identity theft report.
Tax or employment misuse: call the IRS at 1-800-908-4490 and visit IRS Identity Theft Central.
Social Security benefits fraud: report it to the SSA Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov or 1-800-269-0271.

What success looks like: you have a report number from each agency you contacted.

Step 8: Watch for SSN scams

Breaches lead to scam calls and texts that mention your real data. IdentityTheft.gov warns that scammers often pretend to be from the SSA, IRS, FTC or Medicare. Do not respond to unexpected calls, texts or emails about your SSN. Hang up and call the agency at a number from its official website.

What success looks like: you never share your SSN with anyone who contacted you first.

Can you get a new Social Security number?

Rarely. IdentityTheft.gov says that in most cases of lost or stolen numbers, you cannot get a new SSN without evidence that someone is using it. A new number also does not erase your old credit history. The steps above protect you far faster.

Common mistakes

Freezing only 1 bureau. Lenders can check any of the 3.
Skipping the IP PIN. A credit freeze does nothing to stop tax refund fraud.
Waiting to create online accounts. A criminal with your SSN can try to claim your SSA or IRS account first.
Calling numbers from texts or emails. Use the numbers on official sites only.
Paying for services the government offers free. Freezes, IP PINs, credit reports and E-Verify Self Lock all cost nothing.