Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with socialsecuritynumber

Legit landlord or identity thief?

Asymptote — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:33:11 -0800

What personal info does my future landlord need from me to make sure I'm legit? How do I make sure he's legit? This is my first time renting an apartment. Before I sign the lease, the landlord wants (among other info) my social security number and a copy of my driver's license. He says he wants these to run my credit history and do a background check on me. Because my parents will be cosigners on the lease, he wants the same information from them.

Is this reasonable? Or am I just setting myself up for identity theft?

Furthermore, how should I go about checking him out? Is getting his background check and credit history a good idea?

Background:
The landlord lives in NY and the apartment is in CT. I have not yet met him in person, but we've talked over the phone. I've seen the apartment and met with the current residents, who say the landlord is great. I've done some preliminary web searches to check up on him, and he's almost certainly who he says he is.

how do i find out my lost social security number?

compound eye — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 19:23:11 -0800

I've lost my social security number. I'm not american, but i lived there once and had an ssn. I'm in australia, not in the united states, so i can't walk to a social security office and show them my id. How can I find out my what my number was? My social security card was stolen many years ago by a housemate's boyfriend, who for reasons know only to him, also stole my socks and my toothbrush. Not long after than I lost pretty much everything I owned while I was out of the country, so all my records from that time are gone.
(it was a bad year for property retention i guess)
I now need to know the number and given that the nearest social security office is in the us embassy in The Philippines I was wondering if there is an easier way than dealing with a busy office in another time zone. I tried one online service that claimed to be free but then wanted wanted credit card dollars to register.

any suggestions?

thanks for your help

Help me help him look for a job

Jaie — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 10:37:44 -0800

Social security numbers on job applications. I have a library user who is applying for hourly-level jobs at places that only accept online applications. A surprising number of the application sites ask for a social security number, and are set up so that unless you put nine digits in the SSN field you can't proceed to the rest of the application. This library user wants to play by the rules but is, naturally, reluctant to give out this information. All the job sites (Monster.com included) say you should never provide your SSN until you are in the final stages of being hired. It's my understanding that a company cannot require an SSN of an applicant (although I could be wrong about that), but in this case there's no way to get around giving them one. No matter how much I Google, I can't find any advice about what to do when you have to put in a number to get to the rest of the form. So I have come to the ultimate source of advice, Ask MeFi.

If we enter a string of random numbers, is it going to knock his application out of consideration? How will the company react if/when he is hired and has to give his actual number? These are entry-level positions like stocker or parking lot attendant, if it matters.

Savings Bond with Anglicized Name and Giver's SSN and Address -- Can I Still Redeem?

greatgefilte — Sun, 19 Dec 2004 21:19:24 -0800

Incorrect information on US Savings Bonds... Some bonds that were given to me years ago are coming of age, and horror of horrors, there's one that's got just about every piece of information wrong. The last name has been Anglicized, the social security number is the giver's, and the address under my name is the giver's as well (I suspect this came from a well-meaning relative who used a not-too-perceptive messenger to actually get the bond).

Will it be a big hassle to redeem this bond when the time comes? I'm told that if it's just a name or a SS number that's incorrect, it's usually not a problem, but this seems like the next level.