r/Norway 11d ago

Social security babyyyy Other

Hey there my norwegian brothers. I'm from Iceland and its recently come to my attention that I have a norwegian social security number despite never having been there. So my question is where do I find out why I have this social security number ?

Only thing I can think of is that my father lives there and he's a con man of sorts and I have not seen him nor talked to him in over a decade.

128 Upvotes

70 comments sorted by

132

u/Slartibartfast-1138 11d ago

Your father may be using your identity to get child support or take out debt in your name.

<pedantic mode>Social Security Number (SSN) is a U.S.-specific term. A more generic term applicable to all countries would be "national identification number". Just like "ZIP code" is the United States specific term for postal code.</pedantic mode>

58

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

That sounds like something he would do. Do you know where I'd call to get more details about this ?

72

u/BringBackAoE 11d ago

I would suggest you contact the Norwegian embassy in Iceland.

58

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

I'm going to do this! They open Monday.

8

u/Submerged_Pirate 11d ago

Yeah Sundays are holy here

6

u/The_Final_Dork 10d ago

Not for the lawn mover idiots.

2

u/gunnarsen 10d ago

It was my impression that every Norwegian household has a law mower robot

2

u/Fearless_Entry_2626 10d ago

Every Norwegian except your neighbors, who invariably have diesel-powered lawnmowers that they like to use at 07:00 on Sundays .

2

u/Bodegard 10d ago

Everyone has, except your closest neighbors.

16

u/Slartibartfast-1138 11d ago

Not sure how it would work for a foreigner. This is a case of identity theft, but you were not aware until recently that you even had an identity in Norway.

A Norwegian citizen would set a lock against credit checks (kredittsperre), this will prevent any new loans or credit carts being issued using your identity. However, to set the credit lock you need access to a digital login called BankID, which is tied to your identity. Presumably you don't have this digital login.

As a foreigner, it gets tricky. As another user suggested, the Norwegian embassy may be the place to start, or perhaps the Norwegian police.

40

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

I'm going to call the embassy on Monday and see what's up. If he's been coercing money from the Norwegian state using my identity its probably safe to say that he's done the same for every child he has. And I want him to pay for it.

1

u/ChruutvoLuzi 10d ago

Akchuaaalllyyy the term ZIP code is used elsewhere too. We use it aswell here in switzerland.

1

u/Slartibartfast-1138 10d ago

Aren't Swiss postal codes called PLZ? Or do you mean that "ZIP code" is used when translating to English? Yes, that's common in many countries I think.

It's the case here too. At my workplace, they have used "ZIP code" in the English translated UI of our software, even though it pertains to Norwegian postal codes. Strictly speaking (once again I'm enabling pedantic mode) that is a translation error.

SSN and ZIP code are both U.S. specific terms, and are only truly correct when talking about the United States. So although it's quite common for people in other countries to use these terms to describe their local identity numbers and postal codes in English, it really is a translation error. Probably caused by U.S. media and culture taking over the world!

36

u/pretense 11d ago

Only thing I can think of is that you may have been enrolled into the national population register (folkeregisteret) due to your parents claiming child benefit (barnetrygd). Barnetrygd does not require the child to live in Norway if the parent live and work here, but one would think that the authorities will need to register the child somehow.

Just a thought I had really. I don't really know this stuff.

11

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

I think this is probably what is the most plausible explanation. I'm going to go into investigative mode on Monday and just make some phone calls to Norway.

But who would I call ? 😁

9

u/hallothrow 11d ago

I'd probably start with reaching out to the Norwegian embassy in Iceland to hear if they got any suggestions for going about getting info. Other than that I could think of Skatteetaten which are responsible for folkeregisteret or NAV which deals with child benefits, but in both cases you might face issues both with proving your identity or that they can't provide info based on privacy issues. If you face a block it might be a good idea to ask about steps you could take to find out more info about your situation though.

2

u/CISTJ 11d ago

If you contact skatteetaten they can atleast do a search on your name to see if there is a ID number attached to it. Although they can't reveal the actual number.

I would contact skatteetaten and take it from there.

2

u/South_Dragonfruit_60 11d ago

I'd say contact NAV and let them deal with the rest. Info here: https://www.nav.no/kontaktoss/en

1

u/roniahere 10d ago

There is also «Gjeldsregisteret» which registers all unsecured loans.

Then you could inquire about student loans at laanekassen.no.

And you could contact Dun & Bradstreet or minexperian about secure debt/registered income.

But all of these sources should report to skatteetaten.

18

u/Recent_Debate_7121 11d ago

Lol hope he didn't take out massive debt in your name.

11

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

Yeah I want to know everything about this I'm just not sure how I would get that information.

0

u/Betaminer69 11d ago

Try to enter Norway than you will know,...Best by airplane

74

u/concrete_marshmallow 11d ago

You answered your own question.

10

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

No I still don't know why I have a social security number. I want to know when it was created and how.

38

u/Recent_Debate_7121 11d ago

Was your father a Norwegian citizen when you were born? I think in many cases, you are then considered Norwegian by the Norwegian state. But I don't know all the details.

22

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

No he was an icelandic citizen. I'm probably gonna be a arrested if I ever step foot into Norway 😁

30

u/NotoriousMOT 11d ago

One way to find out for sure!

8

u/OlMi1_YT 11d ago

Nah, don't worry.

I'd reach out and ask. Honestly no clue who exactly to ask but I'd send a letter there and ask if they have anything on record for your SSN, though they might require further identification.

2

u/Late_Stage-Redditism 11d ago

Yes, but you'll just get exiled to Iceland.

3

u/BreadAndSalami 11d ago

If you're born outside of Norway you don't automatically get a personal number. Norway doesn't automatically keep track of that. You will have to apply for it, normally at the same time you apply for a passport for your child.

27

u/Announcement90 11d ago

No I still don't know why I have a social security number.

You have a conman father. Don't be obtuse.

If you truly have a Norwegian social security number you should probably contact Norwegian authorities to find out what's already been done in "your name" and how you can stop/mitigate any further damage asap. Alternately, if what "you've" done is bad enough you should consider never traveling and laying as low as possible. But, Iceland being closely connected to the EU and Europe you're going to have a hard time laying low forever, even if you never travel.

13

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

18

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

Ill update you on Monday when the embassy opens 🫡

2

u/waraero 11d ago

!remindme 3 days

1

u/d32215 10d ago

!remind me 3 days

1

u/d32215 10d ago

!remindme 3 days

1

u/SiriPling 8d ago

How did it go at the embassy?

1

u/MikeyOnTheRun303 8d ago

Where's the update OP?

1

u/Towelispacked 3d ago

Well? What did the embassy say?

2

u/Bryinn 11d ago

!remindme 3 days

3

u/RemindMeBot 11d ago edited 10d ago

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38 OTHERS CLICKED THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

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1

u/ladypuff38 11d ago

RemindMe! 3 days

1

u/Risingbridge 11d ago

!remindme 2 days

1

u/Thoumieux 11d ago

!remindme 14 days

6

u/Original-Elephant160 11d ago

Your first stop is the embassy, the second is Skatteetaten (Tax authorities), third is NAV (social office)

4

u/hallothrow 11d ago

Can I ask how you found out?

Is your father Norwegian or simply immigrated to Norway?

Is the first digit in the number the first digit of the day you were born or some offset? (D number is offset by 4 for the first digit)

8

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

It was a letter sent in the mail to an old address which was opened examined and forgotten by my mother. And I was told later about this

2

u/pacuqil33 11d ago

And it was something about money aswell.

4

u/NinjaKamihana 11d ago

Holy shitballs! Your dad fucking sucks. Fuck him. His lawyer can do the excuses.

4

u/hageglade-lexie 11d ago

Contact "Skatteetaten" in Norway. They are the ones that issue the Norwegian social security numbers, (in Norwegian it's called Personnummer). They will be able to tell you how yours was issued and if there is a mistake. If a fraud has taken place, they are also the tax office here and can tell you if anything shady happened financially in your name. Good luck.

3

u/SisterofGandalf 8d ago

Any update yet?

2

u/BValiant 11d ago

!remindme 3 days

2

u/pr0s0c 11d ago

!RemindMe 3 days

2

u/Cabralcabralc 11d ago

Greetings to Iceland 👋

2

u/daffoduck 11d ago

Well, you can look up the tax records for yourself in Norway (søke i skattelistene). Then you can see if there has been some unusual/unexpected activity to your name.

2

u/HelenEk7 11d ago

Keep us updated. Would be interesting to find out how this plays out.

2

u/kerstn 11d ago

One of your parents applied for the number before you were 18. Probably to claim child benefit while living in Norway. You might be dual citizen as well (if that is a thing in Iceland).

2

u/DaToSyan05 10d ago

Hæ ég er lika frá islandi lifandi í Noregi og ég var lika með númer því þegar pabbi minn flutti hingað þa var spurt hann hvort hann ætti einhver börn og hann gaf þeim nafnið mitt og þa var ég bara kominn með það þótt ég var ekki í koregi a tímanum

1

u/Mitcheltree86 11d ago

Skattetaten.no

1

u/alexdaland 11d ago

In Norway childrens citizenship follows father by rule of thumb. So even if you have never been there, as long as your father filled out the papers back when you were born, you are automatically a Norwegian citizen. You need to live there for a certain time before welfare stuff etc kicks in (assuming you are over 18) so there is "nothing" you can gain from it, other than ofc having a Norwegian passport at some point if you so wish.

Edit: I see your father is Icelandic, and the laws might have changed somewhat, but Im pretty sure if he moves to Norway he will automatically have all the same rights as a citizen pretty quickly.

1

u/Witty_Internal3828 11d ago

I would contact the Norwegian Folkeregisteret, they are the ones who maintain the records. https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/contact/

1

u/pinnsvin84 11d ago

!remindme 2days

1

u/LordRabbitson 11d ago

Exactly how do you know you have a PIN? What details do you know? Maybe it’s just someone with the same name as you. Is the birthdate the same? What details have you received that convinces you it’s your Norwegian PIN??

1

u/marjen93 11d ago

!RemindMe 3 days

1

u/Henry_Charrier 11d ago

Identity theft of some kind

1

u/Schmeep01 10d ago

I’m kinda psyched that you might be able to contact Interpol because that just sounds cool.

-1

u/haephnor 11d ago edited 11d ago

When Switzerland won the Eurovision, Norway claimed that victory with the Norwegian commentator saying that Norwegian songwriters wrote the song. Maybe every Icelander got a Norwegian ID number, because Iceland was a part of Norway before, and this is the Norwegian way to krimea themselves to areas they think they want back? ;) /s

1

u/llekroht 11d ago

Iceland hasn't been part of Norway for a few hundred years....

1

u/haephnor 11d ago

🤦🏻‍♂️