Your Social Security number is one of the most sensitive pieces of personal information you own. Too bad yours (and mine and every other Americans’) has likely been leaked and sold on the Dark Web.

Before you panic, there are a few steps you can take right now to protect yourself and your identity.

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Is it really that big a deal?

It sure is. Your Social Security number is the key to the castle. It’s the unique identifier that connects your financial, government and personal records.

With your SSN, criminals can open credit card accounts, apply for loans, hijack your tax refunds, use your government benefits or even apply for jobs.

There’s an easy step you can take.

To safeguard your Social Security number, use the government’s free Self Lock feature. This tool prevents your SSN from being used for unauthorized employment verifications. You’ll need an E-Verify account to do this online.

You can also request a block by calling the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213. Expect to wait on hold for a long time.

Stay proactive

The Social Security Administration also provides online access to your earnings and benefits history through its my Social Security account. It’s free to use and you can get an account even if you don’t receive benefits.

I recommend you check this once a year to make sure nothing is amiss. Check the reported income and confirm everything aligns with your actual work and benefits history.

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Note that if you created a Social Security username more than 3 years ago, you’ll need to create a Login.gov account or use an ID.me account.

The reg flags

How do you know if your SSN is in someone else’s hands? Let me count the ways …

Unexpected bills or accounts: Receiving bills or statements for accounts you never opened is one of the most obvious signs someone is using your Social Security number. Thieves can use your SSN to open credit card accounts, take out loans or even set up utilities in your name. 

If this happens, contact the company immediately and report the fraudulent activity. At this point, a credit freeze is a must, too.

A woman uses a laptop on April 3, 2019. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)

Tax forms that aren’t yours: If you get tax forms like W-2s or 1099s in the mail from employers you’ve never worked with, it could mean someone used your SSN to get a job. In this type of employment fraud, someone who may not otherwise pass employment checks uses your identity instead. It’s a mess and could leave you on the hook for their tax obligations.

Contact the IRS right away if you get any strange tax forms. 

Tax filing goes awry: You file your taxes, then get a notice that someone else already filed using your SSN. This is a simple and surprisingly effective way for criminals to get refunds owed to you.

Act fast if you get a letter from the IRS about a duplicate filing. Go to IdentityTheft.gov to file a report. You may need to complete IRS Form 14039, the Identity Theft Affidavit, to officially report the incident.

Pro tip: Protect your tax accounts before this ever happens. The IRS offers a special Identity Protection PIN program. You get a six-digit number to use for filing your taxes, effectively locking your account to outsiders.

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Hints on your credit report: I bet you see a theme here. Anything you know wasn’t you is the biggest sign. That can include new accounts, lines of credit you didn’t take out or other unexplained changes to your credit. 

You can get a free credit report once a year from each of the three major credit bureaus through AnnualCreditReport.com. Pro tip: Stagger the reports every few months to keep an eye on it more easily across the year. 

Government benefit denials: If you’re denied benefits like disability, Medicare, unemployment or other government assistance, someone may already be using your SSN to claim them fraudulently. 

If it happens to you, reach out to the agency and explain the situation. They will guide you to the next steps to restoring your benefits.

A person dressed as an internet hacker is seen with binary code displayed on a laptop screen in this illustration photo. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Suspect your SSN was stolen?

Move quickly. Start with the Federal Trade Commission at IdentityTheft.gov. Fill out the form there, and you’ll get an entire plan for how to recover your identity and protect yourself going forward.

The IRS also has a place to report if you suspect someone is using your SSN: Identity Theft Central.

Check with your bank, credit card providers and insurance company, too. Some offer free fraud and identity theft protection services that can help you keep everything locked down.

Get tech-smarter on your schedule

Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.

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WhatsApp is adding yet another way to organize all your chats. If you’re tired of struggling to find certain conversations, now you can slot them into custom categories, called Lists.

You can create and label lists dedicated to specific chats, such as those with your family or work colleagues. The messaging app will then display them at the very top of your inbox, alongside the “All,” “Unread,” and “Groups” filters WhatsApp rolled out earlier this year.

To create a list, tap the “+” icon in the filter bar at the top of your chats tab. You can then enter a name for your list and choose which conversations to add. WhatsApp will let you add both group chats and one-on-one conversations to your lists. If you have multiple lists, you can scroll horizontally on the filter bar to view all of them.

Lists start rolling out today, and I’m already seeing the feature on the Android version of the app. If you don’t see it yet, don’t worry, as WhatsApp says it will become available to everyone in the “coming weeks.”

Researchers have come up with an incredible breakthrough that even Spider-Man would be jealous of.

They’ve developed a new technology that creates strong, sticky fibers capable of lifting objects and capturing things from a distance. 

So, how does this web-slinging tech work, and what could it mean for our future?

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The science behind the silk

The researchers at Tufts University have created a real-life version of Spider-Man’s web-shooters, and it’s not just some sticky string in a can. This is cutting-edge biomimicry at its finest. The secret sauce lies in a specialized fluid that, when shot from a needle-like device, instantly solidifies into a strong, adhesive fiber. It’s like watching a magician pull an endless string of handkerchiefs from their sleeve, except, this time, it’s all science.

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Artificial webbing. (Tufts University)

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From moth to marvelous

The base of this wonder material is silk fibroin, a protein extracted from moth cocoons. The researchers added a cocktail of ingredients that would make even Peter Parker’s head spin. They incorporated dopamine, the same chemical that gives you that feel-good rush, along with acetone, which is not just for removing nail polish anymore. They also included chitosan, a sugar derived from insect exoskeletons — creepy but cool — and borate ions for that extra stickiness factor.

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Artificial webbing demonstration. (Tufts University)

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Putting the artificial webbing to the test

Now, you might be thinking, “Sure, it looks cool, but what can it actually do?” Prepare to be amazed. In tests, this artificial webbing demonstrated some truly impressive capabilities. It can lift objects over 80 times its own weight and snag items from a distance of about 5 inches. The researchers successfully retrieved a metal scalpel buried in sand and picked up steel bolts and lab tubes floating on water. While it may not be ready for building-swinging just yet, these feats are nothing to scoff at. It’s like watching a baby Spider-Man take his first steps — not quite ready to fight the Green Goblin, but definitely heading in the right direction.

Artificial webbing demonstration. (Tufts University)

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Real-world applications of artificial webbing

While swinging through Manhattan might still be a distant dream, this technology opens up an exciting world of possibilities. Imagine robots using this tech in search and rescue operations to retrieve objects from dangerous or hard-to-reach places. In manufacturing, it could revolutionize how we create and manipulate materials. The potential for medical applications is enormous as well; this technology could play roles in drug delivery and tissue engineering. Additionally, as a biodegradable substance, it might replace harmful plastics in some applications.

Artificial webbing demonstration. (Tufts University)

Accidental genius: The birth of a breakthrough

Like many great scientific discoveries, this one started with a happy accident. Marco Lo Presti, one of the researchers, was simply cleaning his lab equipment when he noticed something strange. He recalled working on a project to create extremely strong adhesives using silk fibroin when he observed a web-like material forming at the bottom of his glass while cleaning it with acetone. Talk about a cleaning day gone right, and this serendipitous moment led to a breakthrough that could revolutionize materials science.

However, let’s give credit where credit is due; our eight-legged friends are still the undisputed champions of silk production. Natural spider silk is about 1,000 times stronger than this artificial version. However, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither was Spider-Man’s web-shooter.

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Artificial webbing demonstration. (Tufts University)

Kurt’s key takeaways

From the pages of comic books to the labs of cutting-edge researchers, the line between fantasy and reality continues to blur. Today, it’s web-shooters; tomorrow, who knows — maybe we’ll be fitting Tony Stark’s arc reactor into our chests or strapping on Wonder Woman’s invisible jet. One thing’s for certain: the future of materials science looks sticky, stringy and pretty spectacular.

If you could use this web-slinging technology for one practical purpose in your life, what would it be and why? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

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