I’ve not been able to figure this out. If someone uses your SS# while working, since there’s only one account under each number, you get credit for the work recorded by the other worker. That would seem to be a benefit to you at payout time. Where am I going wrong?
Happened to me.
SS caught it and adjusted the total when I retired and claimed benefits.
At one point, the ‘excess’ SS payments were being sent to the Mexican government, by some reports.
Recently my purse was stolen. My SS card was among the things in it. So along with all the other places, agencies, credit bureaus, etc., one has to notify, I went to Social Security to notify them of the stolen card and to obtain a replacement.
I went there within a couple of days of the incident after I obtained a temporary driver's license for ID. SS would not accept it. They only want an "original." I had to wait a couple of weeks for the replacement to arrive.
Finally I was able to go back to SS today. When talking the man (am I allowed to use "man" anymore?) who helped me, I asked if they could tell if someone had used my SSN fraudulently since I had to wait nearly a month to actually get SS to address it. He showed me his computer screen and pointed out my annual income history. He said the only way they could tell if there was fraudulent activity would be if my income suddenly went way up above what my regular income was.
In other words, if the system depends on someone randomly noticing that a person's income has gone up dramatically, then they don't have any security, tracking, oversight, etc. over social security numbers. No wonder they are so easy to steal and use for illicit purposes.