WASHINGTON, D.C. – Scammers will mislead people into making cash or gift card payments, or trick people into giving out their Social Security number.
The Social Security Administration is trying to let people know how to avoid scams. They launched a new Public Service Announcement campaign to warn people about these schemes.
“I want every American to know that if a suspicious caller states there is a problem with their Social Security number or account, they should hang up and never give the caller money or personal information. People should then go online to oig.ssa.gov to report the scam call to Social Security,” said Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul.
The scammers mislead victims into making cash or gift card payments for help with a made-up story about identity theft, or to avoid arrest for bogus Social Security number problems.
The PSAs feature a message from Commissioner Saul. They can be viewed at youtube.com/socialsecurity
There’s a new version of the scam. Fraudsters are emailing fake documents to unsuspecting people to get them to comply with their demands. These fake documents look like they’re from Social Security, or some other official office, but they are not. They may even use official letterhead and government jargon to try to convince you. However, they are fake.
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.
- Threaten someone.
If any of the above happens, you should hang up or delete the email.
If Social Security ever does have a problem, they will usually mail you a letter. If payments are needed for whatever reason, there will be a letter with instructions and payment options. Social Security employees do occasionally contact people – generally those who have ongoing business with the agency – by telephone for business purposes.
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.
