While any business or agency can ask for your number, few can actually demand it -- motor vehicle departments,
tax departments
and welfare departments, for example. Also, SSNs are required for
transactions involving taxes, so that means banks, brokerages, employers,
and the like also have a legitimate need for your SSN.
Most other businesses have no legal right to demand
your number.
"There is no law prohibiting a business from
asking for your Social Security number, but people don't know they
can say no," says Carolyn Cheezum of the Social Security Administration.
"We recommend that you ask if they'll accept
an alternative piece of identification. If they don't, flat-out
refuse to do business with them. Bear in mind that there's a possibility
they'll refuse to provide whatever product or service you're seeking."
Edwards, for example, won't give his SSN to his doctor's
office.
"When you go to the doctor's office and fill
out the medical information, they ask for the SSN. I leave it blank.
Nothing happens. I'm not reporting income from them."
In fact, chances are good that many companies that
routinely ask for SSNs will do business with you even if they can't
have your number.
"We ask for a Social Security number to open
an account, but it's not required," according to Michael Lowndes
of the Long Island Power Authority.
"The Social Security number is just part of the
customer's record. A common problem with utility accounts is people
open an account, default and reopen another account using the same
Social. We can use that to discover the problem."
Kimberly Brown at BellSouth headquarters in Atlanta
says there's a procedure the company follows if someone doesn't
want to give their number.
"We ask them to fill out a questionnaire to determine
their payment history. We don't do a credit check; we depend on
them being honest. The questionnaire determines the BellSouth rating
for them, and then that determines whether they'll have to pay a
deposit to establish service."
Linda Foley of the Identity Theft Research Center
says she brought her critically ill cat to a vet's office and balked
when she was asked for her SSN.
"I said why? Will it be my cat's ID number? They
said no, but if you give us a check we want a driver's license and
a SSN in case the check bounces. I said I'd pay by credit card.
They said it's our policy to get the number.
"I said if I give you a credit card and refuse
to give you my Social Security number you'd let my cat die right
now? They looked at me and the cat and said, 'Give us the card;
we'll take care of it.' I was upset about the cat, but I was frustrated
by the way I was being treated. It was unnecessary."