Social Security Number Only Needs to Be Revealed in Limited Situations
A Social Security number legally must be divulged in limited situations, but for many years, consumers readily rattled off their numbers to anyone who asked. With the rise of identity theft, it has become clear a Social Security number is the key to your finances and much more. Consumers can protect themselves by controlling when they give their number. That can mean politely refusing to disclose a number when there's no legal reason to do so or even walking away from doing business with a company that won't take 'No' for an answer.
Social Security number almost never is legally required as ID, Baltimore Sun, August 28, 2005.
