The increasingly common phenomenon of being asked to provide your social security number in many of life's transactions is an unnecessary risk of your ability to protect your identity, and an invasion of your privacy. Whenever I am asked for my S.S. number, I always ask the requester when I'll be receiving my first paycheck from them. They look at me funny, then I explain what the Social Security number's real function is. If necessary, I then help educate them on when a citizen is required to furnish their S.S. number, and when a merchant or service provider does NOT have the right to insist on receiving a customer's S.S. #.
The following is taken from the S.S. administration's website:
"At its inception, the SSN's only purpose was to uniquely identify U.S. workers, enabling employers to submit accurate reports of covered earnings for use in administering benefits under the new Social Security program. That is still the primary purpose for the SSN."
The entire article can be found here:
The Story of the Social Security Number
Here's a helpful page with a pretty good list of when you DO have to provide the number; it's pretty comprehensive. If you read it carefully, you'll notice that ALL of the instances apply to financial transactions that involve the U.S. Government and the citizen. Your S.S. # is the IRS's "identifier" for you. Basically, if you are not conducting a financial transaction, either income or reception of government aid or benefit or payment of wages to someone ELSE that is reportable, you do NOT have to supply your S.S. #.
https://www.allclearid.com/blog/when-you-can-say-no-to-providing-your-social-security-number
Even furnishing the last four digits is an identity risk. Read the ssa.gov article re/ the construction of that number; a motivated criminal could reconstruct your number if they can find out your birth location and date.
Sooo.. no. Don't give it to anyone unless they're your employer or will be paying you taxable, reportable interest, dividends, or other forms of income, or you're receiving or applying for benefits from a government source. I always remain pleasant, but if I'm pushed I simply state that I am not legally required to provide it and therefore decline to do so, that I do not believe they are legally allowed to require me to provide my S.S. # in order to be their customer, and that I'd be willing to help them learn more about this if they wish. Which government agency would they like me to contact on their behalf?
By then, they usually cave... <grin>.
Anyone who needs your S.S. #, unless you've just been hired by a new employer or are applying for a loan or government benefit, or opening a new mutual fund/IRA/other investment, already has it.
Something like that. There are more specifics, many of which I admittedly am unaware, but that's the gist of it. Hopefully, some of the legal eagles on this forum can set me straight if I'm in error.
Best..
Barry