"Locking" Your SSN Means Closing Four Different Doors People search for one button that locks a Social Security number, but no such master switch exists. Your SSN is used across separate systems — the Social Security Administration's own records, the E-Verify employment-check system, the IRS tax-filing system, and the …

The Single Most Effective Anti-Fraud Move Is Free A credit freeze — also called a security freeze — restricts access to your credit report, which means lenders cannot pull it to open a new account in your name. Because almost every new credit card, loan, or line of credit requires a hard inquiry first, a freeze stops …