If you have bad credit scores or reports, it can pose numerous challenges. Poor credit can restraint you from getting a loan approved or credit card. Renting an apartment is another task that it can make very difficult. Finding yourself in such situations, there isn’t even a single thing you wouldn’t want to do to get out of the mess. At such time, ads that offer you to make your credit score clean and improve significantly may seem tempting and profitable, but are they? 

CPN – What is it?

The term CPN has been widely used in the credit and finance sector recently, and there is a very good reason for it. A CPN (credit privacy number) is a 9-digit number formatted the same way as a social security number (SSN) is. It is also known as a credit profile number or consumer protection number. Some CPNmakers companies sell them as a veil to hide your bad credit history. They also claim or tell the consumers that they can use CPN to replace SSN to apply for a loan. 

Is CPN helpful for credit?

Companies that sell you CPNs market them as a replacement to SSNs and promote that CPNs is nothing wrong. Even it is said that they are legitimate. For instance, some companies associate CPN with social security administration. That sounds pretty legitimate.

In reality, the companies are no less than scams. They go to lengths to obtain SSN by dubious means – from senior citizens, children, and prison inmates. 

There are plenty of signs that tell you that Shady businesses deal with cPNs. While SSN is provided without any cost, companies charge you an amount to issue CPN – sometimes even thousands of dollars. They ask you for false information like false addresses, email addresses, or phone numbers while filing credit applications. The companies may tell you that they are protecting your identity, but all they do is goldplate your real identity by creating a fake one. 

Ignoring the red flags

When you are desperate to improve your credit ratings, you might ignore the red flags. Using CPNs can lead you to larger problems than ratings. If you use CPN anywhere on credit applications, identity theft is considered. Moreover, lying or misrepresenting SSN is a federal crime. 

What can you do?

 It is only natural to start over when you are stuck in bad credit situations. It might tempt you to get a new SSN, but the number is issued only under some circumstances, like the same sequential SSNs assigned to family members and others. 

Getting a brand new SSN is no easy task, even in extreme situations. Even if you can get a new SSN, you are always linked to the old one in one way or the other. There is no way to wipe out your record in one go. What you can do, is naturally boost your credit ratings.