The Barrington Financial Group, Inc.

This scam has been around for many years. It was very active back in the eighties and nineties. We don't see it as much today, but it is still out there. Stay away from this one! It is COMPLETELY ILLEGAL. Here is how it works. The scam artist tells you that you have the right to set up a new credit file not using your social security number. Their claim is that "by law" you do not have to give your social security number as your identification number to the credit bureaus or any creditor. They then claim that you can use an EIN (employer identification number - often referred to as a tax identification number) that can only be obtained through the state in which you live. The number begins with a 2 digit number, then a hyphen, then a 7 digit number. The scam artist claims you can use this number instead of your social security number on ALL credit applications. In using this number, you obviously have to move the hyphen to make your EIN number appear to be a social security number. Now, all applications you fill out will have this NEW EIN/social security number appearing in the social security box of that application. In some cases this actually creates a "new" credit file with this new number. Sounds good, but be assured, it's not! You can use an EIN number on any application. However, the credit grantor can disallow this and to the best of our knowledge, they all do. As long as you designate the number is, in fact, an EIN number and not a social security number, then you are not committing a crime. However, lenders do not accept the EIN number for application purposes. It is used strictly for businesses, and lenders do not allow it to be substituted for your personal Social Security number.

Here is the problem. First, the number you have just created may belong to a deceased person, or to another person with an existing file that is legitimate, or even a child. Years and years ago, a Social Security number was not issued until a person reached 14 years of age, which was the minimum age requirement to work. Today a Social Security number is issued within a couple of weeks of child’s birth. Many times these fraudulent numbers happen to be the same as a new born childs, and the Social Security number of that child is now being used for at least 14 years without anyone knowing. Another scam emerges from this that we will discuss later.

The next problem with doing this is that when an applicant fills out ANY application, and replaces the legitimate Social Security number with this fake number, they are committing fraud with that lender. FRAUD!!! Each account that is opened using this method is considered a separate count of fraud under criminal law. Opening a mortgage using this method, is committing mortgage fraud, which is a felony. It keeps getting worse.

The third problem the scam artist who sells this idea does not tell you is that in a short period of time, your original credit file and your new fraudulent file are merged together at the credit bureau permanently. Yes, permanently as in forever! Most people that do this end up letting all of these accounts go to charge off, which remains on the credit report for seven years. In the meantime, creditors will be pursuing payment from you and possible mortgage fraud charges against you in criminal proceedings. Yes, criminal as in crime, as in doing time in prison. It may sound good initially, but the end result is just not worth it.