Annual Reminder to Review Your Social Security Statement Scam

How To Tell If That Call From Social Security Is a Scam

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If you've ever answered the telephone or received a voicemail threatening you with legal action for overpayments of Social Security or requesting you pay them in an unusual way, you lot've already had a brush with a scammer. Scams are big business concern to the criminals who engage in them for the lamentable reason that they work.

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Kerry Sherin, a consumer abet at BeenVerified, said the Federal Trade Commission has tracked over $1.5 billion in imposter scam losses in 2021 lone.

Chris Hauk, consumer privacy champion at Pixel Privacy, said, "In 2020, more than 700,000 reports of Social Security-related scam calls were reported, leading to a full loss of $45 one thousand thousand among Social Security recipients, for an boilerplate of $5,800 per victim."

Here are tips from experts on how to recognize a scam Social Security telephone call and also what to exercise (or not do).

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Threats

Whether yous get a live phone call or a voice message, "Threatening phone calls that say your Social Security number or benefits are in jeopardy are scams," said Keith Mint, founder of Minted Empire. "In the event that yous fail to pay a fine or fee, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will never threaten you with arrest."

Electronic mail Requests

Another sign of potential fraud is an email that appears to be from the SSA.

"The SSA will send you a letter of the alphabet with payment instructions and alternatives if you demand to make a payment by mail," Mint said. "Government fees and fines should never be paid with store gift cards, internet currency or wire transfers. Scammers choose this kind of payment since it'due south tough to runway them down and go their money dorsum."

Additionally, you tin often spot scam emails because they contain misspellings or grammar mistakes, said David Wurst, owner and CEO of Webcitz. "The letters may comprise government jargon or official-looking letterhead in an attempt to persuade victims, merely they may also comprise misspellings and grammar errors."

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Offers To Increment Benefits for Payment

Some scammers use the hook of offer increased payouts in exchange for what might seem a reasonable fee.

Wurst said, "SSA workers would never promise to boost your Social Security benefits or to provide any other assistance in exchange for greenbacks."

Asking For Your Social Security Number

If the person claiming to be from the SSA asks y'all to ostend your Social Security number (SSN), it's probable a scam, Sherin said. "The SSA would never telephone call you to confirm your SSN. That scenario but isn't real."

Also, SSA doesn't call out of the blueish, she said, "unless y'all've already been dealing with them on a personal business organisation thing, such as a benefit claim." In that instance, y'all should accept the proper noun of a specific amanuensis and be able to verify that information technology'southward the same person you spoke with before.

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Unusual Forms of Payment

One easy warning sign of a scam, said Matt Campbell, CFO at Budgetable, is "when the caller requests a payment via cryptocurrency, souvenir cards or wire transfer. Social Security volition never asking payment this style. … The cost of falling for a Social Security scam is quite meaning and generally in the thousands of dollars."

Practise'south and Don'ts

Sherin urges people to protect themselves by not responding. "A response, even a request to 'take y'all off the call list,' can draw attention from scammers who volition attempt to convince you at that place'due south a problem." Feel costless to hang up on a suspicious phone call, besides.

Sherin as well warns against clicking unverified links, which can "potentially download malicious software, such every bit ransomware, spyware or a figurer virus."

Don't provide personal information. "Unless you have previous dealings with the caller, be leery of providing any information — even the last four digits of your SSN," Sherin said.

Verify the caller. If you lot are unsure, ask the caller for a name and phone number so phone call the SSA at 800-772-1213 to verify the data, said Daniel Chan, CTO of Market place Fairness.

In general, to be safe from this kind of scam or any other, be skeptical, don't give away information unless you absolutely can verify the source and don't send whatever form of payment.

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Jordan Rosenfeld is a freelance writer and writer of nine books. She holds a B.A. from Sonoma State University and an MFA from Bennington College. Her articles and essays about finances and other topics has appeared in a broad range of publications and clients, including The Atlantic, The Billfold, Good Magazine, GoBanking Rates, Daily Worth, Quartz, Medical Economic science, The New York Times, Ozy, Paypal, The Washington Post and for numerous business clients. As someone who had to larn many of her lessons nigh coin the hard way, she enjoys writing about personal finance to empower and educate people on how to make the most of what they have and live a better quality of life.

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