Others can get your personal information in many ways including

• data breaches
• discarded documents
• stolen wallets/purses
• stolen mail
• phishing

While you can't always prevent identity theft, you can reduce your risk.

Hardly a day goes by where data breaches and identity fraud don't make the headlines. In such a world, you may find yourself researching credit monitoring services.

Medical debt often results from unpredictable events, but you shouldn’t let them ruin your credit for years to come. Many Americans are impacted by medical debt—it makes up a large portion of reported debt on credit reports.

The credit bureaus have established a 180-day waiting period before medical debt gets added to your credit reports—meaning you will have about six months to make payments or work something out with your insurance company. If a medical bill is paid late by your insurance company, the credit bureau must also remove it from your credit report.

There are a few situations in which you must provide your Social Security (SSN) number to a business, including

• becoming an employee or independent contractor for a business
• engaging in a banking, financial or real estate transaction
• applying for group health insurance through your employer
• applying for credit

Even when there is no law requiring it, a business might request your SSN and deny you service if you refuse to provide it.

Yes, you can refuse unless you’re legally required to provide your Social Security number (SSN).

A Social Security number can be used to steal your identity (commonly called identity theft) to commit fraud, open new credit and bank accounts, get medical care/other benefits and obtain employment.

No. A real contest won’t ask for your Social Security number (SSN) over the phone (you’ll have to give it in writing).

The Social Security Administration will only issue a new Social Security number (SSN) in very specific or extreme situations, so it’s not likely that you’d be able to change yours.

Those rare situations in which they might change your SSN are if 

It’s always important to protect your Social Security number (SSN), but it’s extra important to do so around tax time. The tax forms you receive (job, banks) and your tax returns will all have it on them, but you can take some steps to protect your SSN and safeguard yourself against identity theft.

A Social Security number (SSN) is a nine digit identification number that has become a universal identifier for both the government and the private sector in the U.S.