The Riskiest Places to Give your SS Number

According to research by McAfee, the 10 most dangerous places to give out your social security number are:

Universities and colleges
Banking and financial institutions
Hospitals
State governments
Local government
Federal government
Medical businesses
Pharmaceutical companies
Non-profit organizations
Technology companies
Health insurers and medical offices

Of course, most of these businesses will not assist you unless you give them your SS number, but if you must, see if they will accept the last four digits only.  When you do business online, you will find that most of the businesses asking for your SS number will encrypt all but the last four digits. 

It is important that you install and update your anti-virus and security software often and check your credit reports and bank accounts to make sure there are no transactions on them that you did not make.

Beware of emails asking for your SS number.  Legitimate businesses would not ask you by email.

Last, but not least, trust your instincts.  That is, if something does not look or sound right, it probably is not.

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/111238/10-riskiest-places-to-give-your-social-security-number?mod=bb-budgeting