Create your own my Social Security account before someone creates one in your name
The US Social Security Administration says opening your own online account may stop someone else opening one in your name. How, and what to check.
From people’s advice and experience about protecting Social Security numbers and records, shared online. The SSA, FTC and IRS lines were read on their own sites in October 2026.
You may think a Social Security account is something you open when you retire. The Social Security Administration (SSA), the US government agency that runs Social Security, makes a different point about one part of it. In a November 2021 blog entry it says: “When you create an account, it prevents someone else from possibly creating an account in your name.”
If you have a US Social Security number and are 18 or older, create your own my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount, even if retirement is far away, so that you hold the account and not someone else.
This page is for adults with a US Social Security number. If you are under 18, the SSA says you must be 18 or older to create an account. If someone you live with controls your phone, email or mail, or you are in danger, read the section called A different route before you do anything else. If someone has already used your number, the emergency guide here called Someone is using my identity has the steps, with doors for the US and UK.
What the account is for
The SSA’s my Social Security page says a personal account lets you review your earnings history, monitor for unusual activity, and secure and manage your online account, and lets you get your Social Security Statement. In an August 2024 blog entry the SSA adds that if you have not yet applied for benefits, you should not find any benefit payment amounts in your account, and that reviewing your Statement lets you check that the earnings posted are yours, to make sure no one else is using your number to work. A payment amount you never applied for, or earnings from an employer you do not know, is the thing to look for. One person suggests checking the earnings record for gaps in your own work history, which is the same check from the other side.
How to open it
- Type ssa.gov/myaccount into your browser. The SSA’s Office of the Inspector General warned in February 2026 of a surge in fake emails claiming a Social Security Statement is ready to download, and says: “To access or set up your Social Security account, go directly to ssa.gov/myaccount.” It also says official emails come from addresses ending in .gov.
- Choose Login.gov or ID.me. The SSA says that if you are not sure which, to continue with Login.gov, and that new accounts can only be created with one of the two. Login.gov asks for an email address, a government-issued photo ID and a phone number; ID.me asks for an email address, a government-issued photo ID and a device with a camera. The SSA says this one-time setup can take 5 to 20 minutes.
- Sign in and look at your earnings record.
The SSA says you must be 18 or older and have a valid email address. If you cannot create the account, it says to contact your local Social Security office, by appointment. One person reports an error saying an account cannot be created for their number. This page cannot say why that happens; the SSA’s local office can, and so can the number below.
A different route
You may prefer to have no online access at all. In an October 2021 blog entry the SSA says you can ask it to block electronic access to your Social Security record, naming victims of domestic violence as one case, and that after the block no one, including you, can see or change your personal information on its website or through its automated phone service. You ask by phone, on 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), and you can ask for it to be undone after you prove your identity. The same SSA entry says that when you show evidence of being harassed, abused, or that your life is endangered, it can assign you a new Social Security number. The SSA’s fraud page adds two blocks for people who get benefits: an eServices block, which stops anyone including you seeing or changing your information online, and a Direct Deposit Fraud Prevention block; both are removed through a local office.
This page cannot say which of these suits you. A block and an account are different tools: the first shuts the online door, and the second means you hold it. If you are worried about someone you live with, an online account on a shared phone or email may not be safe to open, and a call to the SSA or to a helpline can show in a shared phone’s call history. The UK National Domestic Abuse Helpline’s website says that if you think someone might be monitoring your devices, you should leave its site and visit it from a safe device. A helpline can help you plan before you change anything. In the US, the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788) can talk through the safety side. In the UK, the domestic abuse helpline for your nation can: in England the National Domestic Abuse Helpline (0808 2000 247), in Wales Live Fear Free (0808 80 10 800), in Scotland the Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline (0800 027 1234), and in Northern Ireland the Domestic and Sexual Abuse Helpline (0808 802 1414). In an emergency call 911 in the US or 999 in the UK.
Two more things people do
- The IRS Identity Protection PIN. The IRS says an identity protection PIN (IP PIN) is a six-digit number that prevents someone else from filing a tax return using your Social Security number, that anyone with a number who can verify their identity can get one, and that you may get one as a proactive step even if you are not required to file. It also says what it costs you: a new IP PIN is generated each year, it must be used on any federal return including a prior-year one, and a missing or incorrect IP PIN means an e-filed return is rejected. If you are under 18 it says to use an alternative enrolment route. The IRS identity theft line is 1-800-908-4490.
- A credit freeze. There is a page here called Freeze it at all three about that, so this page does not repeat it.
Before you hand over the number
The Federal Trade Commission says some organizations need your Social Security number, like the IRS, your bank and your employer, and that they will not call, email or text to ask for it; if they do, it is a scammer. For others, such as a medical provider, a company you do business with or a child’s school, it suggests asking: “Why do you need it? How will you protect it? Can you use a different identifier? Can you use just the last four digits of my Social Security number?” It adds: “If you’re not satisfied with their answers, don’t share your Social Security number.” The SSA’s fraud page says: “Do not routinely carry your SSN.” One person says to memorise the number instead of carrying it. A form that insists on a number may have a legal reason, and the FTC does not say that you can leave a required field blank, so ask the organisation what it needs instead of guessing.
Who this page is not for
If you are under 18 or have no US Social Security number, this page is not for you. If you live outside the US, the SSA says people with a foreign mailing address should create their account with ID.me. If you are reading because someone has already misused your number, you have moved past prevention: report it at IdentityTheft.gov or on 1-877-438-4338 (the Federal Trade Commission, as the SSA’s August 2024 blog entry says), and for tax-related misuse the same entry points to the IRS line, 1-800-908-4490. In the UK, a National Insurance number works differently and this page does not cover it; Report Fraud (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or Police Scotland on 101 take reports of identity fraud.
Common questions
Is it worth saving a copy of my Social Security Statement?
People differ. Many people suggest downloading the Statement as a PDF as a record of your earnings, and say it takes little effort. Some people say a personal copy has no legal power: it is an estimate under today’s rules, so it would not stop a change to the rules or make anyone accept it. Both can be true. A copy is a record you hold, not a promise from the government. The SSA says the account lets you review your earnings for accuracy, which is the check that matters here.
I have been told ID.me or Login.gov is a risk, because they hold my ID. Should I still use one?
The SSA says new accounts can only be created using ID.me or Login.gov, so there is no other way to open the online account. One person says using a third-party service for government accounts concentrates personal data in one place and could add risk compared with separate accounts. That is a real trade, and this page cannot weigh it for you. If you would rather not use either, the route is a call to the SSA, which the section called A different route describes.
What if I already have an account but forgot it?
The SSA says that if you already have an account and have trouble signing in with Login.gov, you can visit Login.gov/help or call 844-875-6446, and that for ID.me support there is an ID.me help centre. The SSA itself can help with blocking or unblocking electronic access and with deactivating your account on 1-800-772-1213.
Questions this step helps with
Same situation, another step
- Read the settlement notice before you file the claimScams and fraud
Who can help
Social Security Administration
You can call to ask about retirement, disability and other Social Security benefits, or to get things like a replacement card or a benefit letter. Many of these can also be done on their website.
IdentityTheft.gov
If someone used your information, you can tell them what happened and get a personal recovery plan with the steps to take. The site also has sample letters and contact details for the credit bureaus.
IRS identity theft line
A phone line to verify your identity and your tax return status, listed on the IRS identity theft guide. The Social Security Administration also points people to it if they believe someone is using their Social Security number to work, get their tax refund, or other abuses involving taxes.
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