Question: how do people use stolen social security to mess up our credit? 

Answer: Social Security numbers are not supposed to\nbe used for identification.  But in many\ninstances that is all that is needed for\na transaction...name, address, and ss number.\nOnce a transaction is made, it is easy to\nspiral the deception and before long, the\nperson responsible is the one who lost the\nnumber.  There are steps to take, but most\noften it is a difficult procedure that may\nnot be completely successful.
This question from the Yahoo Q&A forum is categorized in the topic: Business & Finance