When signing into a Casting Office, the sign-in sheet will sometimes ask for an actor’s SSN. Since this is the number one thing to keep out of the public eye, why is it asked for in such a way that every actor entering afterwards will be able to get the number themselves? And is it okay to decline to state? I have no problem giving them the number when they ask confidentially, but hesitate to put it up so largely.
You’d mentioned in one column not to put your SSN down, but put your SAG number down to prevent ID theft. If I am not yet in SAG but I do have a Federal Taxpayer ID as part of my normal business, is it okay to put that number down instead?
Will leaving the SSN line blank endanger an actor from getting a callback?
Keep up the good work!
I would definitely never put your Social Security Number “out there.” Not on a sign-in sheet, not on a size card, not on a resumé, not on a website. Nowhere. Making that information accessible is a recipe for disaster! Yes, members of SAG will often put their SAG ID number on the sign-in sheet, but even that’s not entirely necessary.
If you aren’t a member of SAG yet, you’re basically looking at leaving that little box on the sign-in sheet blank, right? Well, that’s okay! Until someone is paying you, there is no need to provide your Social Security Number or SAG ID number. “On file” is a fine notation for that box on the sign-in sheet. So is, “will provide upon hire,” if you prefer.
One of the tasks we’re faced with, upon finalizing our cast, is calling SAG’s Station-12 to be sure actors are paid up members. For this, we do need the actors’ Social Security Numbers, but in almost every case, my office has to place calls to the actors and/or their reps after the official casting offers have been accepted in order to obtain this information. So, no one is “dinged” for having left off a SAG ID number or SSN when signing in at the audition session.
Bottom line, there is far more at risk when you provide your Social Security Number on a sign-in sheet than there is potential benefit. Believe me, the ten seconds you save us down the line by having already provided the information is not at all worth the nightmare you’d face if you were to become a victim of identity theft.
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Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000681.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.