How Can I Protect Myself From Social Security Scams?

Dear Matt,

My husband received a phone message with a robotic voice saying it was the Social Security Administration investigating fraud on his account. It gave us a number to call to answer their questions. Then they said if we did not contact them, they were going to start legal proceedings against us. 

Fortunately, my husband’s younger brother is a lawyer, so we immediately called him, and he informed us it was a scam. We also contacted a local Social Security Administration office by their real number.  They agreed it was a scam and said there was nothing wrong with my husband’s account. 

This whole experience left us feeling unsettled and we wanted to warn other people about it. Do you have any recommendations for how we can protect ourselves from scams like this?

Thank you,
Regina 

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Regina, thanks so much for writing! I know you’re feeling unsettled, but I want to commend you and your husband for doing exactly the right thing to protect yourselves from fraud. I think our readers would benefit from your experience. 

What Do Scammers Want?

Most of the time the main objective of a scam artist is to get you to reveal personal information such as your date of birth or Social Security number. Their goal is to steal your identity, then do things like apply for credit cards in your name that they will max out as soon as possible. 

They might also try to extract credit card or debit card information from you so that they can make fraudulent charges to your real accounts. Scammers might try to contact you by phone, text, email, or postal mail.

Deceptive Communications

Scammers are very good at making their communications look and sound as authentic as possible to make you think you are interacting with a legitimate SSA representative. 

For example, they may use “spoofing” to make the actual SSA phone number appear on your caller I.D. A “phishing” email will look official and have a URL that is almost identical to a legitimate government website but with a different extension that you might not notice. It directs you to a fake website designed to look like the real thing to get you to enter your information. 

A postal mailing will have official-looking letterhead, and could even appear to be signed by an actual SSA official you could look up on the Internet. It will try to get you to call a number or go to a website where you could be tricked into providing your data.

Psychological Tactics

These criminals also use psychological tactics. They may try to get you to drop your guard by acting friendly and helpful, offering to help obtain Social Security cards for family members or provide information to you about the status of your account and future benefits. 

They might also use intimidation tactics to get you to act quickly and emotionally, rather than thinking things through and talking with someone else. They might be verbally aggressive and they may use bogus threats to make you fear you could lose your benefits or even go to jail for not complying with them.

How Can You Recognize a Scam?

One way to recognize a scam is to know what Social Security Administration personnel will and will not do. They will not ask for your personal data, like your date of birth or Social Security number over the phone or by email. They will not threaten jail time or criminal prosecution. They will also not ask for your credit card information to pay for services or fines. 

Remember that no legitimate business or agency will ever ask you to pay for anything by purchasing gift cards. The SSA will not text you unless you have opted in to receive text messages from them. The SSA also will not force you to call a number and provide identifying information to activate a benefit, such as a cost-of-living adjustment, which happens automatically.

What If You Suspect a Scam?

If you do suspect you’re being scammed, do the following:

• Do not have a conversation with them, even if they are nice. Just hang up.
• Do not call a number, go to a website, click on a link, or download a file based on a suspicious call, text, or email. 
• Block phone numbers and websites that sent you fraudulent information.
• Document as much as you can, including phone numbers, website URLs, and any other helpful information for the authorities.
• Report incidents to local police, the Social Security Administration, the Office of the Inspector General, or the Federal Trade Commission.

What if You Get Scammed?

If you or a friend or relative did get tricked into sharing personal data or credit card information, do the following:

• Contact your bank and credit card companies to alert their security departments of fraud on your account.
• Change your passwords and pins on all your accounts and web resources you access.
• Block the numbers and websites of the scammers.
• Document as much as you can, including phone numbers, website URLs, and any other helpful information for the authorities.
• Report incidents to local police, the Social Security Administration, the Office of the Inspector General, or the Federal Trade Commission.

Want to Know More?

The Social Security Administration, the Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Trade Commission not only have web pages for reporting fraud, but additional information about how scam artists operate and how you can protect yourself. 

Thank you, Regina, for bringing this to everyone’s attention. I hope together we have been able to help at least one person protect themselves from a lot of heartache. 

Yours,
Matt