Recently, we received a letter from Vonda Van Til, Public Affairs Specialist with the Social Security Administration regarding the recent increase in phone scams. We’ve received these types of calls here at the office and know of individuals that have been affected by such scams. As the old saying goes, “If it feels wrong, it probably is.” Protect yourself and share with others. If you have any questions, please contact our office or use the links at the end of the letter for additional resources.
Social Security and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) continue to receive reports about fraudulent phone calls from people falsely claiming to be Social Security employees. The scammers mislead victims into making cash or gift card payments for help with purported identity theft, or to avoid arrest for bogus Social Security number problems.
People should also be on the lookout for a new version of this scam. Fraudsters are now emailing fake documents in attempts to get people to comply with their demands. Victims have received emails with attached letters and reports that appear to be from Social Security or the OIG. The letters may use official letterhead and government jargon to convince victims they are legitimate; they may also contain misspellings and grammar mistakes.
The new PSA addressing the telephone impersonation scheme is available online at www.youtube.com/socialsecurity .
Social Security employees do occasionally contact people–generally those who have ongoing business with the agency–by telephone for business purposes. However, Social Security employees will never threaten a person, or promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information or money. In those cases, the call is fraudulent and people should just hang up.
Generally, the agency mainly calls people who have recently applied for a Social Security benefit, someone who is already receiving payments and requires an update to their record, or a person who has requested a phone call from the agency. If a person is not in one of these situations, they normally would not receive a call from the agency.
Social Security will not:
- Tell you that your Social Security number has been suspended.
- Contact you to demand an immediate payment.
- Ask you for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
- Require a specific means of debt repayment, like a prepaid debit card, a retail gift card, or cash.
- Demand that you pay a Social Security debt without the ability to appeal the amount you owe.
- Promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information or money.
If there is a problem with a person’s Social Security number or record, in most cases Social Security will mail a letter. If a person needs to submit payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions and payment options. People should never provide information or payment over the phone or Internet unless they are certain of who is receiving it.
Additional resources:
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- Report a Social Security Phone Scam: oig.ssa.gov
- What you should do if you receive a suspicious Social Security phone call: https://faq.ssa.gov/en-us/Topic/article/KA-10018
- Phone Scam Alert TV and Radio Public Service Announcement: https://www.ssa.gov/news/psa.html