{"id":26559,"date":"2023-06-12T15:07:59","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T23:07:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/?p=26559"},"modified":"2023-06-12T15:08:00","modified_gmt":"2023-06-12T23:08:00","slug":"social-security-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.spokeo.com\/compass\/social-security-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Social Security Scams You Need To Know For Your Own Security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s a nearly universal childhood experience: standing in front of an authority figure \u2014 your principal at school, a famously stern grandparent, your own parents at the end of their rope \u2014 with your stomach churning as they tell you at length how extremely<\/em> disappointed they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No matter how many years have passed, that feeling remains fresh, and scammers have long since learned to harness it for criminal purposes.  That\u2019s why they so often claim to be calling from a recognized authority such as your bank, the IRS or the police.  In recent years the Social Security Administration (SSA) has become the \u201cauthority of choice\u201d for scam callers, topping even the IRS<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are five of the most common social security scams (most others are simply variations on the theme) and what you need to know to avoid falling for them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. \u201cYour SSN Has Been Used in the Commission of a Crime\u201d<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In this scam, you\u2019ll receive a call telling you that your social security number has been connected with criminal activity.  Some versions of the story name a specific crime \u2014 drugs, money laundering or something along those lines \u2014 but some don\u2019t.  The criminal may badger you as if you\u2019re suspected of involvement or, alternatively, play the role of a helpful customer service rep helping you resolve your problem. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the first type of caller, you may be threatened with arrest or legal action.  With the second you may be told that your social security account has been suspended pending investigation or that the SSA needs to issue you with a new card and number.  Some versions of the scam will ask you to \u201cconfirm\u201d your SSN, which in practice means giving it to the scammer.  Others solicit a fee in order to reactivate your account or to issue you a new SSN. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can listen to a real-world recording of this type of scam at the AARP\u2019s Social Security Scams<\/a> page. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. \u201cYou May Have Been the Victim of Identity Theft\u201d<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Because life is filled with irony, some criminals will tell you that you\u2019ve been the victim of identity theft in order to steal your identity.  In this instance the caller usually again plays the helpful service rep role. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the setup is slightly different from the above \u201ccriminal activity\u201d scam, as you aren\u2019t threatened with imminent arrest, the end result is the same.  You\u2019ll be asked to either confirm your \u201cold\u201d SSN or to pay a few dollars to create the new one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the most brazen version of the scam, the caller will warn that criminals may have gained access to your banking information and will offer to help you move all of your money out of the compromised account.  The \u201cmoving your money out of your bank account\u201d part is sadly accurate, though the rest of their story is fabricated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. \u201cYour Benefits Have Been Increased\u201d<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Scammers don\u2019t always come to you with a stick; sometimes they bring the metaphorical carrot instead.  (Fear is a good motivator, but greed works too.)  In this common social security scam you\u2019re told that you\u2019re entitled to an increase in benefits, often \u2014 but not always \u2014 pitched as a cost of living adjustment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All you need to receive your extra few dollars each month is \u201cverify\u201d your name, date of birth and SSN, and possibly the details of the account where your money is deposited.  This allows scammers to steal your identity quite effectively, and they may even hijack your social security account in order to fraudulently claim your benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. \u201cYou\u2019ve Received Overpayments and Need To Remit Money\u201d<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

This is a nasty and entirely plausible ruse, because we\u2019ve all seen news stories of people who received overpayments from one or another government agency, innocently spent them without being aware of it, and experienced real hardship in trying to pay them back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These calls are some of the most alarming for victims, because the purported SSA representative almost invariably threatens loss of benefits, legal action, seizure of assets and potentially jail time if you don\u2019t cough up some money RIGHT NOW! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Scams via Emails, Text Messages and Letters<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Social security scams often come by way of telephone calls, but that doesn\u2019t mean you can trust emails<\/a> or text messages (or even physical letters<\/a> in the mail) purporting to come from the SSA.  These are usually (almost invariably) phishing attacks<\/a>.  They use the same sham stories as the phone calls but give you a link to click, a number to call or an address to reply to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you click the link you may be taken to a bogus website<\/a> where your personal information will be harvested, or scammers might load your computer with malware.  If you call the number you\u2019ll be given the same spiel you\u2019d get from a robocall.  If you remit a payment or send personal information to the address in a bogus SSA letter, well, it\u2019s lost and gone forever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Common Are Social Security Scams? <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Within just the past few years, social security scams have become the most common type of \u201cimposter\u201d scam (the kind where the criminal pretends to be from a government agency or other authority).  In 2018 the SSA\u2019s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recorded only 15,221 reports of SSA imposter scams.  In 2019 that skyrocketed to over 478,000 incidents, and in 2020 it rose again to over 718,000<\/a>.  The dollar amount associated with those complaints has risen as well, reaching almost $45 million in losses for the victims, or an average of $6,100. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although you might think of SSA scams as targeting older victims specifically, that\u2019s not really the case.  The OIG\u2019s midyear report to Congress for 2021<\/a> showed younger people as the most common victims, with under-30s and under-50s accounting for far more incidents than those aged 50 and up.  On the other hand, older victims tended to lose more money (perhaps just because they have<\/em> more assets), peaking at an average loss of $8,565 per incident in the 70 to 84 age bracket.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Are Social Security Scams So Effective? <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Social security scams \u2014 and imposter scams in general \u2014 work because they play to our natural and deeply ingrained fear of finding ourselves in the wrong with the authorities.  It\u2019s the same feeling that makes us nervous about a police car in the rearview, even when we\u2019re driving normally and have done nothing wrong. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scammers also rely on a varied bag of tricks to help push victims toward compliance: <\/p>\n\n\n\n