When my Dad was living alone I stopped by one night and I could tell he was troubled. He told me he gave his SSN to someone over the phone. After he did it he realized he shouldn't have. He said he thought it was the bank, but when he stopped at the bank to ask them he was told the bank never asks for SSN on the phone. For the next two days I put stops on accounts etc. Then a couple days later I was driving down the road and saw a sign for his car/home insurance company. Their name started out the same as his bank. On Monday I called the insurance company to ask if they had called my Dad. They checked his file and it was noted that they had called for his SSN. I went balistic when they told me that. I expressed my dissatisfaction with what they had done and explained to them why. Their response was they never thought of that. Oh my! I also told them in the future to call me!