A client of Greeman Toomey Law Office recently contacted us to inform that he was called by someone who indicated they could help him with a Social Security disability case and get him money, which rightfully set off some alarm bells for him.
This client was suspicious because he was already a client of ours, in fact he had been one for nearly two years, and wasn’t expecting any contact about his claim until a hearing had been scheduled. The caller was asking him for personal information and he decided to call our office. He wanted to know if we were affiliated with anyone who may be contacting him about this matter and we informed him that no we were not and he should use caution.
This all makes more sense since Social Security reported as of April of 2016 there appears to be a running scam where people are calling disability applicants claiming they can help and seek personal information. This is clearly an identity theft scam and people who are going through the disability process should take necessary steps to protect their personal information.
Social Security suggests that anyone receiving a call about assisting with a Social Security disability claim should not give their Social Security number out or provide any personal banking information. This actually can be a problem for legitimate Social Security disability representatives, like Greeman Toomey PLLC, because we need the Social Security numbers of potential clients to send our representation paperwork. Anyone should be suspicious when someone asks for a Social Security number, but by verifying who that is can ease some concerns.
At Greeman Toomey we would encourage those who are contacted by Social Security disability “helpers” to ask a lot of information about who is calling them. Ask the name of the firm, the address and phone number and ask that you be given time to verify their identity before calling them back. Any legitimate Social Security representative would be happy to oblige while scammers would not be open to this extra scrutiny. Additionally, any Social Security disability advocates should provide free consultations where they ask questions about certain impairments a potential client may have, past work history and other clarifying information well before personal information like Social Security numbers are sought. These consultations usually last about 15 minutes or so over the phone and any scammers trying to illicit information would probably grow tired of in-depth conversations about impairments and work history.
If you are contacted by someone and they are pressuring you for personal information like a Social Security number it is probably an indication it is a scam. At Greeman Toomey we will never pressure anyone for this type of information until they are ready to provide it after doing their own due diligence.
Anyone who suspects that a Social Security disability scammer has contacted them is encouraged to call the Social Security fraud hotline at 800-269-0271 between the hours of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).
