Credit Privacy Number (CPN): Definition, Risks & Alternatives

Using a Credit Privacy Number (CPN) when applying for a loan or other credit, or even an apartment or job, is illegal. The Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, and even the FBI, have issued warnings outlining how using a Credit Privacy Number is committing fraud.

You may have heard that you can use a CPN instead of your Social Security number to get a loan or credit card if you have bad credit, or to help repair credit, or even protect your identity. Don’t do it!

CPNs fall in the category of “If it sounds too good to be true … it is too good to be true!”

Using a CPN is not a good way to repair credit, apply for an apartment, or protect your identity. Understanding what a CPN is, how it works, and why using a CPN is illegal, will keep you from being taken in by a scam, and also help you better understand legitimate ways to overcome bad credit.

What is a Credit Privacy Number?

A Credit Privacy Number [CPN] is a nine-digit number that looks just like a Social Security, or other government-issued number, but is not issued by a government agency.

Credit Privacy Numbers, also known as Credit Protection Numbers or Credit Profile Numbers, are sold by credit repair agencies to people looking for a quick fix for bad credit.

CPNs are also marketed as a way to hide information from background checks, as a substitute for a Social Security number, or even as a way to protect your identity.

The term “Credit Privacy Number” may sound official and give the impression that a CPN is a good thing to have. Nothing can be further from the truth.

Many CPNs are stolen Social Security numbers that belong to children who are too young to have used theirs yet, older people who have a solid credit history but are no longer using their Social Security Number to apply for credit, and people who are incarcerated, so they’re not using their SSN. A CPN may also be randomly generated, but that doesn’t make it all right to use.

CPNs are also falsely marketed as substitutes for an EIN [Employer Identification Number], which is similar to an SSN, but belongs to a business, or an ITIN [Individual Taxpayer Identification Number], which is used by people not eligible for Social Security. Both are nine-digit, government-issued numbers.

CPNs have been around for years, but advances in technology and artificial intelligence make them easier to create and market, the Federal Reserve says. The proliferation of social media also makes it easier to spread false information about them that can lead consumers to unwittingly pay for a CPN, believing that using one will repair their credit or protect their privacy.

Is it Legal to Use a Credit Privacy Number?

It is illegal to use a Credit Privacy Number. If you use a CPN in any circumstance, you are committing fraud, because it is not a legitimate form of identification and it misrepresents who you are.

Federal Trade Commission guidelines for consumers stress that any identification number used for credit or other ID purposes must be government-issued. The FTC says that if a credit repair company tells you to lie on a credit application or loan, including use of a false ID number – a CPN – they are committing a felony, and so are you if you do what they ask.

The scammer that sold you the CPN may tell you it’s a way to “protect your identity.” What you’re actually doing is creating a false identity to get money, or a good or service. This crime is officially known as synthetic identity creation. If you use a CPN to “build credit,” you’re engaging in synthetic identity creation, even if you don’t realize it.

The Federal Reserve, which has tracked the use of CPNs for two decades, notes that synthetic identity creation has increased dramatically as technology has evolved and with the rise of artificial intelligence and social media.

If you use a CPN that’s a stolen Social Security number, you’ve committed identity theft, which is also a felony. You can be criminally charged even if you didn’t know the Credit Privacy Number was a stolen SSN.

You may read on social media that there are instances in which you can legally use a CPN. There aren’t. While myths about “legal use” of CPNs are all over the internet, they are just that: myths.

Myths About CPNs

False: It’s all right to use a CPN on an apartment application. If you are using a CPN on an apartment application, you are committing fraud by misrepresenting your identity.

False: It’s all right to use a CPN on a job application. Your Social Security number is required by an employer to deduct your Social Security and other benefits and giving a false number is committing fraud [as well as denying yourself future benefits]. If the CPN is a stolen SSN, using it is a felony.

False: CPNs help build good credit. If you are using a CPN to build positive credit, you are committing fraud by using false identification and engaging in synthetic identity creation. Once the number is detected as fraudulent, not only can you be charged criminally, but you also lose any “good credit” you built.

False: CPNs are useful to protect your privacy. CPNs don’t protect privacy, they create a false identity. The scammer that sold it to you also now has your personal information, exposing it to be fraud.

False: A CPN itself is not illegal. While the number itself is just a number, if it’s a stolen Social Security number, it is illegal for the company that sold it to you to have it and sell it. If you use it, you are committing a felony. If it’s not a stolen SSN, using the CPN is fraud.

False: It’s all right to use a CPN if you’re not eligible for a Social Security number. If you’re not eligible for an SSN, but still must pay U.S. taxes, you’re issued an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number [ITIN] by the federal government. It’s a free nine-digit number that serves the same function as an SSN. A CPN is not a legal substitute.

False: Using a CPN is OK if a Social Security number is requested, but not used to check ID. It’s illegal to use a CPN where an SSN is asked for, no matter what the SSN will be used for. For instance, if a driver’s license is being used for a background check, but an SSN is still requested, it’s illegal to provide a false number. CPNs used in these cases are one way that scammers build synthetic identities and create further accounts.

How Do People Get a CPN?

CPNs are sold online through companies that claim they can repair your credit or protect your identity. Often, a CPN is part of a credit repair package that includes other elements. If you search online for “how to get a credit privacy number,” or even “fast ways to repair credit,” you may end up clicking on a scam that involves CPNs.

If the company offers a CPN, or any ID number that can be used on documents that require a Social Security number, it’s a scam. A credit repair company may not charge you for a CPN – it may be included “for free” when you pay for “credit repair” services. It may even be marketed as some kind of alternate Social Security number. There’s no such thing. Your SSN is issued to you when your birth is registered in the U.S., or, if you become a citizen, at the time you become one. It is free of charge.

Sales pitches by CPN scammers are aimed at people who need to borrow money but have bad credit, are desperate to repair their credit, want to hide a bankruptcy from a background check, or even want to protect their private information. The sales pitch will sound good, telling you what you want to hear, but it is masking illegal tactics that can get you into legal and financial trouble.

If you’re communicating with a credit repair agency and are told any of the following, it’s a red flag that you’re being lured into a CPN scam:

• They can hide bad credit, including bankruptcy, and give you a clean credit slate.
• They can help you avoid background checks.
• A new identification number will protect your identity.
• A CPN is simply a secondary Social Security number, or a substitute for one.
• Your credit score will improve to more than 700.
• You’re asked to use a false mailing address or phone number.

These are all red flags, because many are not legal, and none are anything a legitimate credit relief agency would offer.

What Are the Risks of Using a CPN?

The risks of using a CPN range from legal, to financial, to emotional consequences, even if you didn’t know it was illegal. Some of the risks of using a CPN are:

• Fine or imprisonment, and a criminal record, for committing a federal crime by using false information on a loan or credit application and/or for committing identity theft if the CPN is a stolen Social Security number. A felony criminal record is a lifetime burden that can have an impact on employment, housing, and finances.
• Loan and credit application denial, loss of housing or a job, because the CPN used on an application is detected as fraudulent.
• Financial wreckage from losing your job, being charged with a crime, or losing your apartment.
• The emotional toll the consequences will take on you as you struggle to undo the damage.

Protect yourself from getting scammed by learning how to spot credit repair scams. You can also protect yourself by understanding your rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

What to Do If You’ve Used or Bought a CPN

If you’ve already had or have a CPN, it’s not too late to undo the damage. The steps to take if you’ve used or bought a CPN are:

1. If you haven’t used it yet, do not use the CPN.
2. Immediately freeze your credit with all three credit reporting bureaus.
3. Report the scam to the Federal Trade Commission, your state’s attorney general’s office and your local police department. The police likely can’t do anything about it, but their reports are forwarded to the FBI, which collects data that helps combat fraud and scams.
4. Review your credit reports from the three credit reporting bureaus and dispute incorrect information on your credit report, checking for both errors and accounts that aren’t yours.
5. Get help from a certified credit counselor at a nonprofit credit counseling agency, who can help you legally improve your credit.

Legal Alternatives for Repairing Your Credit

There are legal ways to repair your credit. None of them are quick fixes, but the benefit is that you’ll build a strong financial foundation and stay out of debt. You’ll also avoid the many pitfalls of a CPN scam.

Some of the best legal ways to repair credit are secured credit cards to rebuild your credit, credit counseling, which can give you tools to establish credit responsibly, better financial management, and debt consolidation.

How to Rebuild Credit Without a CPN

Organize your finances. Improving your credit can be as simple as making on-time payments and keeping your credit balances low (less than 30% of your credit limit is ideal), the two biggest factors in a better credit score.

Check your credit reports. The three credit reporting agencies supply online copies of your credit report, free of charge, weekly. If you want a hard-copy report mailed to you, it’s still once a year. Review your credit reports frequently for errors and accounts that don’t belong to you. Visit annualcreditreport.com to retrieve them.

Talk to a counselor at a nonprofit credit counseling agency. A discussion with a counselor at a nonprofit credit counseling agency is free. They’ll review your budget and financial situation with you. They will suggest ways to eliminate debt and repair credit that are within your means.

Secured credit card or credit-building loan. A secured credit card allows someone with bad credit, or none at all, to build credit by putting a deposit down on a card. You make monthly payments that are reported to the credit bureaus. If you pay on time for a designated period, eventually the card transitions into a traditional credit card. A credit-building loan is similar. It’s a small loan on which the borrower makes monthly payments that are reported to the credit bureaus. Once all payments are made on time, the borrower can access the balance, and has built a credit history, that makes them eligible for other loans and credit.

Debt management plan. Debt management plans are administered by nonprofit credit counseling agencies, which work with creditors to lower interest rates and waive fees. You make monthly fixed payments to the agency, and the agency pays your creditors in agreed upon amounts. The plans take 3-5 years and eliminate debt. On-time payments and shrinking balances improve your credit score even before all the debt is eliminated.

Debt consolidation. A debt consolidation loan or balance transfer card consolidates debt. You make one monthly payment for a fixed period, instead of multiple high-interest payments.

Debt settlement. For-profit debt settlement pays a portion of what you owe, and the rest is forgiven. It will have a serious impact on your credit, since you don’t pay for all of what you owe, but it is a legal debt relief solution. If you go this route, keep an eye out for credit repair red flags.

Bankruptcy. If your debts are simply too high to pay, and there are no other options, Chapter 7 bankruptcy will give you a clean slate to begin again. It stays on your credit report for 10 years, but if you manage your finances well post-bankruptcy, it is a legal way to build a better financial life.

Frequently Asked Questions about CPNS

Can a CPN replace a Social Security number?

No. A Social Security number is issued to U.S. citizens when their birth is registered, and to naturalized citizens when they become a citizen. It’s unique to the individual, free, and is used to track income and benefits throughout your life, as well as an identifier for loans, and on other applications. A CPN is not government-issued and is not a legal identifier.

Why is a CPN illegal?

A CPN is illegal if it’s a stolen Social Security number. Use of a CPN is illegal – whether it’s a stolen SSN or not – because it fraudulently misrepresents your identity.

What is the difference between a CPN and an EIN?

The U.S. Department of Treasury issues Tan EIN [Employer Identification Number]. It’s nine digits and serves the same purpose for a business that a Social Security number does for an individual. An EIN can be legally used as an identifier on tax and financial documents. A CPN is not a legally issued government identification number and can not be used where an EIN is requested.

What is the difference between a CPN and an ITIN?

An ITIN is a nine-digit number issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Similar to a Social Security number, it’s for individuals who are ineligible for Social Security, but still must pay U.S. taxes. A CPN is not issued by the government and is not legal to use on government or financial documents.

Can I use a CPN on an apartment rental application?

No. The reason an application, no matter what it’s for, asks for a Social Security number or other identifier, is because it’s a unique and recognized government-issued identifier. It may be used to track your background, but even if it’s not, it identifies who you are. Often CPNs used on applications are then used to create further accounts, which is synthetic identity creation, and is a felony.

Will a CPN protect my identity?

A CPN will hide your identity when you use it, but it won’t protect you. It opens you up to criminal fraud and identity theft charges. You may also be scammed by the company that sold it to you and now has your personal information.

Will a CPN help me build good credit?

If you use a CPN to obtain credit, it will likely eventually be revealed as a fraudulent number, which will result in legal issues for you and eliminate any credit you may have built. A criminal record, fines and even jail time will do much more damage to your credit, wallet, and future prospects than any short-term “benefit” of using a CPN.

Is using a CPN a victimless crime?

No. The CPN user can become a victim once their use is uncovered and they’re charged criminally and/or experience economic fallout. Many CPNs are stolen Social Security numbers, which means that the identity of the person the number belongs to has been stolen.

Lenders, property management companies, or any business or entity is being defrauded when a CPN is used, which may eventually cost anyone who uses their services money. CPNs are also often used to create false identities to further defraud people, including the CPN user.

Final Thoughts: Don’t Fall for CPN Scams

CPNs are marketed as harmless loopholes, but they’re anything but harmless. Using one carries serious legal risk, as well as risk to your financial well-being. The damage can be long-term, even lifelong.

There is no shortcut or quick fix to repairing credit. But doing it the right way will build a strong financial foundation that will benefit you for the rest of your life.

Help is available, and the best time to get started is now.