Community Chat

[NicksmomESQ]

 I was under the impression that if you have an active credit freeze you were unable to set up a My Social Security Account.
  My DH just set up his account. We have had a credit freeze on our accounts for a few years.Have the rules changed? Should I be concerned?

[monti3]

Not sure what a credit freeze is.  Assuming it means you can't get anymore credit because you're maxed out.   Whatever the case, your Social Security is not tied to your credit.   I believe if you owe child support it would be taken out of your SS check.   

[CelticCrafter]

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@monti3 wrote:

Not sure what a credit freeze is.  Assuming it means you can't get anymore credit because you're maxed out.   Whatever the case, your Social Security is not tied to your credit.   I believe if you owe child support it would be taken out of your SS check.   

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A credit freeze is when someone freezes their credit reports so that their  identity can't be stolen.  It has nothing to so do with Social Security it has to do with a persons social security number used to get credit cards, loans, etc.

[Mz iMac]

@NicksmomESQ   I'm curious.....

What gave you the impression that your SS is tied to your credit?  

There are several types of credit freezes.  The 2 most common are through credit cards & w/the top 3 credit agencies. 

I have had freezes as well as alerts on all of them for eons.  Been on SS for the last 5 yrs.  Never the 2 have they crossed w/each other.

[CelticCrafter]

@NicksmomESQ in some states the freeze is only good for 7 years.

[Foxxee]

From Forbes:  2019

"According to Social Security, you “cannot create a ‘my Social Security’ account online if you have a security freeze, fraud alert, or both on your credit report.”

That’s because Social Security uses an external Identity Services Provider, Equifax, to verify identity and protect the personal information of online customers. (Ironically, it was an Equifax hack that caused so many of us to freeze credit in the first place.)

So, what should you do if you have a freeze on your credit report?"

See here:

A Freeze On Your Credit Report? You'll Be Frozen Out Of Online Medicare Enrollment (forbes.com)

[shoesnbags]

@NicksmomESQ 

We froze all of our credit a few years back due to the constant corporate breeches.  It has nothing to do with our social security payments which are deposited in our bank account every month.

[Growing]

SS now uses a text message with code that you use when you try to sign in. You can't sign in if you don't recieve the code and then type it into the box that will pop up. I am not sure the answer to your answer though, and it looks like someone gave you a Forbes article. If your husband has been recieving SS for a while, it could be that they "know" who he is via his email addy or something similar. 

EDIT: to add that the SS website, ssa.gov should have this information on its website relating to the MySocialSecurity page. Always use the .gov website. 

[JudyL]

@NicksmomESQ I had that problem when I set up my Social Security Account.  I had to go and remove the credit alerts, open the SS account, then have the credit alerts reinstated.

[Melzie]

I was curious and looked this up on line.  It appears the SSA currently uses Equifax to help it verify “out-of-wallet” information about someone who wants to create an online account. So if your credit file is frozen with Equifax, you have two choices:

• You can thaw it for a day so you can create your Social Security account online. (You can call Equifax at 800-349-9960.)
• Or if your Equifax file is frozen and you don’t want to thaw it temporarily, then you can go to a local Social Security office and open an account in person.

I got this information from the Consumer Information page of the Federal Trade Commission and  Money Matters Column, both on line.