The Guadalajara Reporter

Banks permitted to ask for US social security numbers, sources confirm

Mexican banks are within their rights to ask their U.S. account holders for their U.S. social security numbers, several sources have told this newspaper.

Some American residents in Jalisco have received phone calls or letters from their banks asking them to provide the numbers so their records can be updated.

According to the Mexican banking watchdog Condusef, under certain international regulations, financial institutions may ask new and existing account holders for such personal information.

However, Marco Carrera, a press spokesman at Condusef in Mexico City, says foreigners should never give out their social security information over the phone or even in a written reply.

“Go to you branch and speak to your executive about the matter to make sure there are no doubts,” he told the Reporter, adding that many scams exist in Mexico to elicit personal information from unsuspecting citizens.  Just because a letter has a formal heading with a financial institution’s logo does not necessarily mean that it is legitimate, he said.

According to AARP’s Sid Kirchheimer, there is no law in the United States forbidding companies asking for customers’ social security numbers. But he suggests they always ask “why it’s needed, how it will be used and the consequences if you decline.”

Using the same caution in Mexico would appear wise.