Ask Larry

Larry My personal information SS number was stolen can someone falsely collect benefits from you if they claim to be married to you in a foreign country? If so how do I go about proving that this is happening?

Hi,

You would have to be drawing your benefits in order for someone to collect spousal benefits on your Social Security record, and when a person claims spousal benefits Social Security requires certification of the marital facts from the worker on whose record the spousal benefits are claimed. Therefore, I can't imagine a circumstance in which someone could be drawing spousal benefits from your account without your knowledge.

If you think that someone may have falsely claimed benefits from Social Security using your identity, you can check with Social Security to find out. In the extremely unlikely event that's happened to you, you'll need to submit satisfactory evidence of your identity to Social Security.

Best, Jerry