Do I have to give my Social Security Number to my bank?
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Yes. With the crime of identity theft being so rampant these days, your wariness is understandable, and you should question anyone who says they need your Social Security Number. The bank's request is legitimate, however, because it is required by Federal law (a provision added by the USA PATRIOT Act) to obtain an identifying number on each and every customer. For customers who are U.S. citizens, that identifying number must be the individual's Social Security number. Even before the PATRIOT Act provisions added this requirement, financial institutions were required to obtain the Social Security number of individuals to whom it paid interest (e.g., individuals who have interest-bearing deposit accounts), as well as the SSN for individuals who paid the bank interest (e.g., someone who has a mortgage loan with the bank) under provisions in the Internal Revenue Code.
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Yes. With the crime of identity theft being so rampant these days, your wariness is understandable, and you should question anyone who says they need your Social Security Number. The bank's request is legitimate, however, because it is required by Federal law (a provision added by the 