Protect Yourself From Social Security Scams
Today is National Slam the Scam day, designated by Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General to raise awareness of government imposter scams which are rampant across the United States. Slam the Scam day is part of National Consumer Protection week.
National Slam the Scam day is aimed to protect the public from scammers who are impersonating government agencies, such as Social Security, Medicare, or the IRS. Today’s scammers are tech-savvy and clever. The government warns that you should not trust your caller ID because scammers are able to replicate numbers.
The Social Security Administration (SSA) warns of four basic signs of a scam:
1. Scammers pretend to be from an agency or organization you know to gain your trust.
2. Scammers say there is a problem with your account or that you’ve won a prize.
3. Scammers pressure you to act immediately. (“If you don’t act now, someone else gets the prize.”)
4. Scammers tell you to pay in a specific way, such as with gift cards or cryptocurrency.
The SSA will NEVER do the following (so this is a tip off to a scam):
– Threaten you with arrest or legal action if you don’t pay money immediately.
– Suspend your social security number.
– Claim to need personal information or payment to activate a cost-of-living (COLA) adjustment or other increase.
– Pressure you to take immediate action, including sharing personal information.
– Ask you to pay with gift cards, prepaid debit cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, or by mailing cash.
-Threaten to seize your bank account.
– Direct message you on social media.
– Demand secrecy.
If you get a call demanding any of these things, HANG UP!
Be wary. Scams are increasingly sophisticated, and scammers have been known to use legitimate names of employees, “spoof” official phone numbers, and send official-looking documents through mail, email, text, and social media.
If you believe that someone is trying to scam you, report the fraud here – https://oig.ssa.gov/report/
You can help stop fraud by sharing this information with your friends and relatives. Together, we can Slam the Scam!
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