Unfortunately, financial scams are a part of life that many people have to deal with. There are always going to be nefarious people out there who are looking to steal money from hard-working Americans, and one major vehicle these criminals use is by claiming to be from the Social Security Administration to get personal information.
A recent story from Investment News chronicled the most recent Social Security scams people have been the targets of. Gale Stone, Social Security’s acting inspector general wants people to be aware of these scams and urges people to be suspicious when someone is calling asking for personal information.
“Be aware of suspicious calls from unknown sources, and when in doubt, contact the official entity to verify the legitimacy of the call,” Stone said in the story. “Do not provide information such as your Social Security or bank account numbers to unknown persons over the phone or Internet.”
This may seem like obvious advice, but many people do fall victim to such scams because the people trying to get their information are quite convincing. Below are some of the most recent scams that have been reported.
- An automated recording informs that a person’s Social Security number has been suspended for suspicion of illegal activity and the person should contact a provided phone number immediately to resolve the issue. The call concludes by stating that if the person does not call the number provided their financial assets will be frozen.
- A call comes from someone who claims to be from Social Security “headquarters” and is asking for personal information including Social Security number, address and date of birth.
Social Security does contact people related to retirement or disability claims, so it is easy to fall for one of these scams. If you are unsure who is contacting you or whether it is a legitimate call from Social Security, you should decline to provide the information and contact Social Security on your own at 800-772-1213 to verify the agency is trying to reach you.
