Using your Social Security number for identification purposes or writing it as a notation on a check may be dangerous.
According to Ivan Kollar, vice president of Citibank, giving out your Social Security number to an unknown party is paramount to giving out the combination to a safe or an automatic teller machine P.I.N.
“Don”™t ever give out your Social Security number to anyone who you don”™t know or whose identity you can”™t verify,” Kollar told a group of high school and college students participating in the Monroe College Summer Law Institute, a week-long program that addressed several different aspects of the criminal justice system, from forensics testing to high-tech crime.
The event was hosted by the New Rochelle branch of Citibank.
“Don”™t even carry your Social Security card on your person,” Kollar said. “Keep it locked up in a safe deposit box.”
Kollar will be hosting a similar identity theft workshop for business owners Sept. 18 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Citibank”™s New Rochelle branch at 238 North Ave. Reservations are requested and can be made by calling 235-3211.
Citibank”™s presentation on identify theft and fraud is available to other student groups, civic organizations and business associations. To arrange for a presentation, contact Janine Fazina at 235-3211.
