Your ex has your Social Security number. Here’s what they can do with it.

April 26, 2026

By Kim Komando

“Hey, Kim, I’ve been divorced for years. I got a collections notice for a $6,800 loan I never took out. It has my name, SSN and address. The only person who has all that information is my ex, and I believe he used it. How do I prove this wasn’t me and protect myself from more damage?”

— Danielle in Florida

Oh, Danielle. I’m sorry. You got out, you rebuilt, you moved on and then a notice in the mail.

This is pretty common in situations involving bad breakups, adult children, messy divorces or estranged family, where someone who once had full access to your life still has the paperwork to prove it.

Think about what details some people have about you. Your Social Security number. Your mother’s maiden name. Your birthday. Your childhood street. That’s not just personal history. That’s a key. 

💳 Here’s what they can do with it

Open credit cards. Take out personal loans. File your taxes and pocket your refund. Apply for government benefits in your name. Even get medical care billed to your insurance. The average identity fraud victim loses $1,551 out of pocket. 

When someone who knows you does it? The FTC says those cases take an average of 200 hours to resolve. That’s five 40-hour full workweeks of your life cleaning up his mess.

And Danielle, that loan may not be the only one. It’s the one you found.

🔒 Do these things today, in this order

1. File a police report. I realize that’s a big step. Do it anyway. You need the report number for everything that comes next.

2. Go to IdentityTheft.gov. It walks you through every dispute step by step. This is your road map.

3. Pull all three credit reports at AnnualCreditReport.com. Every unfamiliar account, address or hard inquiry gets flagged.

4. Dispute in writing. Send a certified letter to the bureau reporting that $6,800 collection. Keep copies of everything.

5. Get a watchdog running. This is the step most people skip. And it’s the most important one.

You can clean up what he’s done. But you have no way of knowing what else he has in motion or what he’ll try six months from now. 

That’s where NordProtect* comes in. It’s the identity theft protection service I use and recommend. It scans the dark web 24/7 for your Social Security number, email addresses, phone number and financial accounts. 

The moment your information shows up somewhere it shouldn’t, you get an alert. Before another loan gets opened. Before another card gets maxed. There’s also identity theft insurance and a full restoration team in your corner if you need to fight back.

Make sure nobody, and I mean nobody, gets to use your identity as their personal ATM ever again.

👉 Get NordProtect for $2.99/month, that’s 79% off. This is a limited time offer. Don’t miss out.

You already survived the hardest part. This is paperwork. Ugly, infuriating paperwork. But you’ve got this.

📩 Send this to someone who has gone through a divorce, messy family situation or a bad breakup and thinks the hard part is over.