The Social Security Number is a special 9-digit figure allocated to every citizen of the United States either by birth or by migration.
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It is a unique identification number that can be used to digitally monitor the activities of the citizen in the country.
The SSN is required for almost all operations which can give a clean, clear record of the owner of that number for tracking purposes.
The number has been in use in the US now, with over 450 million citizens who have been issued with the number.
The SSN is very essential, and it’s used to open bank accounts, carry out transactions, and obtain some benefits due to citizens from the government.
It is used for the tax declaration. It is also used for birth certificates and death certificates.
It can be obtained for free by filling out a form requiring documents proving your age, citizenship, or immigration residence.
Sometimes, the social security number is used to carry out fraud, theft, and other dubious activities, thereby impersonating the original owner of the number.
It’s difficult to detect if your SSN is being used to carry out transactions without your knowledge. But regular monitoring of your bank account transactions can reveal and let you become aware of any unusual activity. The SSN is always required by an employer when he gets a new employee.
This SSN enables the employer to report the income, which makes tax deduction easy.
The government in the US, both at the Federal and state levels, gives out loans and it is the social security number it uses to know those eligible for the loan.
Beneficiaries of unemployment benefits and social security disability income need a social security number to make claims of their benefits either from the state or federal government.
The SSN’s use for this ensures they are eligible for the benefits.
It is also required for the issuance of international passports in the U.S
A social security number is also required to get a driver’s license and tax returns.
The SSN should be kept safe and almost confidential by the holder. The number shouldn’t be requested and given out anyhow, especially in medical cases.
The SSN is contained in a card known as the social security card. This social security card must be kept safe and not carried about everywhere except in the case of a new employee.
If the social security card is requested and unavailable, an international passport can be used for identification and citizenship.
The social security card and documents where the SSN was used should be kept safe to avoid using them for fraudulent activities.
Other countries worldwide have similar identification digits that perform the same function as the social security number.
Like in Nigeria, we have the Tax Identification Number (TIN), Bank Verification Number (BVN), and National Identification Number (NIN).
Similar special identification digits are also used in countries like South Africa and the UK but it is not called Social Security Number.
