Dispute on Credit Report

[Chris Mackinlay]

Hello everyone. Great forum here. I have been lurking for a while to soak up content while I get my personal financial house in order. I need some help and thought this would be the place to ask. I'll stay short and concise. I haven't applied for a credit card, loan, payday advance, or anything similar in years. I noticed a hard inquiry on CreditKarma last night. Called the institution (Barclays Bank of Delaware) and they wanted my social security number. I didn't give it to them because I haven't heard of them, nor did they give me any reason to not doubt them. Called TransUnion this morning. Lady said to fill out a dispute online. Attempted that process, but was unable to complete it because I couldn't dispute item I needed to. Called back TransUnion, the guy told me to call the creditor on my report. TU said to get a letter of deletion from Barclays, they won't do that without my social security number. I'm frustrated. Nobody within these two companies seems to care and they are demanding of my social security number, which I don't want to give them. Anyone experience this before? How can I fix it and remove this check to my credit? What can I do to prevent this in the future? Thank you for any insights!