OCEAN COUNTY – County officials are teaming up with the Social Security Administration (SSA) as part of an effort to raise awareness about social security scams.
Noting National Consumer Protection Week and “with over 200,000 senior residents living in Ocean County, it is imperative that we inform our residents to be aware of scams so that they can protect themselves,” Ocean County Commissioner Joseph H. Vicari said.
Vicari serves as chairman of Ocean County Senior Services and Consumer Affairs. “I encourage our citizens to be vigilant and extremely cautious when asked to provide information such as your Social Security number or bank information to unknown people over the phone or the internet.”
The Federal Trade Commission noted last year that there were over 396,000 complaints of government imposter scams, which led to more than $442 million being lost to scammers.
The Commissioner added, “when providing personal information, residents should make sure they are certain as to who is receiving the information. You must be very confident that the source is the correct business person and that your information is secure.”
In an effort to prevent further losses, the Social Security Administration reminds residents that government agencies will:
- Never threaten arrest or legal action if someone does not immediately send money to resolve an overpayment.
- Never promise to increase benefits or resolve identity theft issues for a fee or by moving money into a protected account.
- Never require payment with a retail gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, internet currency or by paying cash.
- Send a text or e-mail message that contained personal information.
The SSA suggests the following additional steps to prevent falling for a scam:
- Hang up on suspicious calls from “government officials” calling about a problem with your social security number or account.
- Never pay payments with gift cards, wire transfers or by mailing cash.
- Report social security scams to oig.ssa.gov
- Report other scams to reportfraud.ftc.gov
Officials also reminded residents to contact the Ocean County Office of Senior Services at 732-929-2091 or the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs at 732-929-2105 for additional information.
