Giving out social security number
 

My daughter has just become a co-tenant in an appartment in NYC. Since she is a student, I have to be a rent guarantor. Now the rental agency calls me up and says they want my SS number. I say no way - anyone in the rental agency would have access to that number, and could use it for credit card fraud, etc. Rental agency says they will ask her to leave the appartment if I do not give them this info. I said I will do so if they write me a letter saying they accept legal responsibility for any misuse of my SS number coming from within the agency. They say "we don't do business that way" (very rudely).
I am I being paranoid? What would you do?

"Very Rudely" This from a person in NYC? I am shocked and appalled.

I would say once she is in, she is in. It would take them going to court to get her out.

As a little jujitsu - I would give them a dummy number, and then another, and another... Once the first few rents checks come in on time, they are bound to leave pops alone..

This came up in another thread. Here's what the SSA has to say:

From the SSA site

Question:

Must I provide a Social Security number (SSN) to any business or government agency that asks?

Answer:

The Social Security number (SSN) was originally devised to keep an accurate record of each individual’s earnings, and to subsequently monitor benefits paid under the Social Security program. However, use of the SSN as a general identifier has grown to the point where it is the most commonly used and convenient identifier for all types of record-keeping systems in the United States.

Specific laws require a person to provide his/her SSN for certain purposes. While we cannot give you a comprehensive list of all situations where an SSN might be required or requested, an SSN is required/requested by:

· Internal Revenue Service for tax returns and federal loans
· Employers for wage and tax reporting purposes
· States for the school lunch program
· Banks for monetary transactions
· Veterans Administration as a hospital admission number
· Department of Labor for workers’ compensation
· Department of Education for Student Loans
· States to administer any tax, general public assistance, motor vehicle or drivers license law within its jurisdiction
· States for child support enforcement
· States for commercial driver’s licenses
· States for Food Stamps
· States for Medicaid
· States for Unemployment Compensation
· States for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families
· U.S. Treasury for U.S. Savings Bonds


The Privacy Act regulates the use of SSNs by government agencies. When a Federal, State, or local government agency asks an individual to disclose his or her Social Security number, the Privacy Act requires the agency to inform the person of the following: the statutory or other authority for requesting the information; whether disclosure is mandatory or voluntary; what uses will be made of the information; and the consequences, if any, of failure to provide the information.

<b>If a business or other enterprise asks you for your SSN, you can refuse to give it. However, that may mean doing without the purchase or service for which your number was requested. For example, utility companies and other services ask for a Social Security number, but do not need it; they can do a credit check or identify the person in their records by alternative means. Giving your number is voluntary, even when you are asked for the number directly. If requested, you should ask why your number is needed, how your number will be used, what law requires you to give your number and what the consequences are if you refuse. The answers to these questions can help you decide if you want to give your Social Security number. The decision is yours."</b>

I mentioned before that there were "generic" SSNs that could be legally used for this type of situation. I had seen it on a News program. However, according to the SSA and to make a long rambling answer short, they said that only one SSN is assigned to a person (there are exceptions though)....the use of another person's number is a Federal offense.

Perhaps there are unused or reserved numbers but they're not coming up in any search I do.

Ferderal Offence? Giving a dummy number to some real estate office is like pulling off a mattress tag..

If the young lady has a lease, is in the apartment and the rent is paid, it is a done deal.

The agency is full of crap in my non-legal-advice opinion. If they wanted to have you as a co-guarantor they should have checked you out BEFORE she entered into the lease agreement.

My old building wouldn't even accept co-guarantors from out of state. Too difficult to chase you down in Iowa.

The rental market is soft in NYC right now, if they kick her out she can find a new place.

Tell them you're an illegal immigrant with limited english so you don't have one. Mabye you're a "special" person and develope a nervous tick and start studdering the numbers so that after 10 minutes they are not too sure what order they were in.

The company needs someones credit to ruin and to sue if she defaults. That legal and understandable, but SS#s should no longer be a valid form of i.d. because there were never any safeguards put in place by gov and buisness. When I used to recycle paper for a community college, I'd find stacks of personal info a foot thick, I complained a whole lot so hopefully it's changed.