SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBERS

The following will show how resourceful people can be to try and get this information from you.  Do not give this information to anyone over the phone or through the mail.  It can be a very costly mistake.

My husband and I each took a phone call which was obviously a dangerous scam,

at least to me. A friendly, upbeat voice didn't ask to whom they were

speaking, just started out with "Hello, Henre Ette (in my case) - I'm ( a

first name) with Capital First and need to update your information on your

credit card account - please verify your social security number......." I

told him I don't have a credit card with that company; in fact I've never

heard of it. He insisted I do have an account; he had all the records in

front of him and he was just verifying information for new cards they were

sending out. Didn't I want to update my account? I hung up the phone!

My husband received a cheerful, friendly voice saying "Hello, John, I need

one more piece of information to process your application.....we need your

social security number." My husband was uncertain about this call and told

the man that he would have to call back and talk to his wife, as she handled

all the paperwork in the household, and he didn't know about any application.

When I came home and he told me about this call, I was relieved that he did

not give out any information - there was no application in the works and I

would never give out our social security numbers over the phone unless I knew

with whom I was dealing and I had initiated the call.

So Beware! They talk fast, in an upbeat voice and address you by your first

name right off the start. It's easy to be taken by surprise this way and not

stop to think that this may be someone you don't know. Never give out your

social security number to an unknown source; this can cause monumental

problems in your life!

Henre Ette Draper