Bucks Blog: A Caveat in Creating an Online Social Security Account

I wrote this week about expanded online services offered by the Social Security Administration through its My Social Security Web site.

In response, a Bucks reader wrote to express his disappointment that, because he had a security freeze on his credit reports, he had been unable to create an online account that would allow him to check his annual Social Security statement for accuracy. He has opted instead to request his annual statement by regular mail.

Could that be right, I wondered? Many — although, probably not enough — people voluntarily put security freezes on their credit reports as protection against identity theft. If a freeze is in place, no company (except ones you’re already doing business with) can see your credit report. This helps prevent thieves from opening unauthorized accounts in your name.

It turns out, though, that the reader is correct, but there is a workaround available.

Mark Hinkle, a spokesman for the agency, said My Social Security works through Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, to verify the identities of people setting up online accounts. When you go online to register, the agency’s system performs a so-called “soft” inquiry of your Experian credit file. If a freeze is in place, your information can’t be accessed and you can’t create an account, at least not without jumping through some extra hoops.

I set up an account through My Social Security last spring, and I was curious. So I checked my free Experian credit report at annualcreditreport.com, and sure enough, there it was — an inquiry from the Social Security Administration. A “soft” inquiry means it isn’t shared with other creditors and doesn’t affect your credit score.

If you want to continue setting up an account online, Mr. Hinkle said, you must thaw the security freeze temporarily — just as you would if you wanted to apply for credit — then reinstate it after setting up the account through My Social Security. (Because it’s just the Experian report that’s at issue, you needn’t lift any freezes you have in place at the other big credit bureaus, TransUnion and Equifax.)

Lifting the freeze shouldn’t be difficult, as long as you have the special identification number you received when you initiated the freeze, and there’s usually a fee involved. (Fees vary by state; where I live, Arkansas, it’s $5 to establish a freeze and another $5 to lift it.) According to my colleague Ron Lieber, who has written about the benefits of security freezes, obtaining a temporary thaw can usually be accomplished quickly.

Experian’s Web site says you can lift the freeze for a preset length of time, like seven days, 30 days, etc., or for any period you specify.

If you really don’t want to suspend your security freeze, you can visit a Social Security office, where the staff will verify your identity in other ways — say, by looking at your driver’s license — so you can set up an online account without going through Experian. That will save you the fee for lifting the freeze, but will cost you some time.

Have you created a my Social Security account after temporarily lifting a security freeze? Let us know about your experience.

Article source: http://bucks.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/a-caveat-in-creating-an-online-social-security-account/?partner=rss&emc=rss