IG Warns Public About Fraudulent Phone Calls Threatening Arrest or Legal Action
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: December 7, 2018
The Acting Inspector General of Social Security, Gale Stallworth Stone, is urging citizens to remain vigilant of telephone impersonation schemes that exploit the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) reputation and authority.
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) continues to receive reports from across the country about fraudulent phone calls from people claiming to be from SSA. Recent reports have indicated that unknown callers are using increasingly threatening language in these calls. The callers state, due to improper or illegal activity with a citizen’s Social Security number (SSN) or account, a citizen will be arrested or face other legal action if they fail to call a provided phone number to address the issue. This is a scam; citizens should not engage with these calls or provide any personal information.
SSA employees do contact citizens, generally those who have ongoing business with SSA, by telephone for customer-service purposes. However, SSA employees will never threaten you for information; they will not state that you face potential arrest or other legal action if you fail to provide information. In those cases, the call is fraudulent, and you should just hang up.
“Unfortunately, scammers will try anything to mislead and harm innocent people, including scaring them into thinking that something is wrong with their Social Security account and they might be arrested,” Stone said. “I encourage everyone to remain watchful of these schemes and to alert family members and friends of their prevalence. We will continue to track these scams and warn citizens, so that they can stay several steps ahead of these thieves.”
The OIG recently warned that some of these impersonation calls have “spoofed” SSA’s national customer service phone number, displaying 1-800-772-1213 as the incoming number on caller ID.
The Acting Inspector General urges citizens to be extremely cautious, and to avoid providing information such as your SSN or bank account numbers to unknown persons over the phone or internet unless you are certain of who is receiving it. If you receive a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA, you should report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
For more information, please visit https://oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/scam-awareness. For media inquiries, please contact Andrew Cannarsa, OIG’s Communications Director, at (410) 965-2671.
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Andrew Cannarsa, OIG Communications Director
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Donnie W.
18001828694 called saying I was fraugulant tax something and there was a federal warrent on me.
L.A.
Hi Donnie. Thank you for letting us know about these calls. We do not usually make random calls. If you or anyone receives calls saying that they are from Social Security, do not give out any personal information. Suspicious calls should be reported to the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a new site specific to Social Security scams here. We hope this helps.
Pussucker
Fuck you
Katie
Call from telephone number 210-807-4203 saying i needed to contact them regarding the recent criminal activity with my social security account and left another number to call back..obviously I didnt….Is it coincidence that i was at the social security offices only hours earlier??..hmmm
E W.
Just received a threatening call from number
+1 (202) 762-5825 at 1:52 pm Eastern Time
They called my land line (904)280-1921
and it forwarded to my cellphone.
Claimed Social Security Dept had issued an arrest warrant for me , due to my Social Security Number has been used for illegal activity. Very threatening official voice on the message. I wish to report this to your dept as instructed by your website.
Thank you, E. Winslow Chapman in Florida
PB R.
I have just received a call from 740-901-8965, threatening legal action. When I called the number, they identified themselves as Social Security; when I asked for more information, they fluttered and eventually said they were located in El Paso Texas. I putting the comment here as I don’t know how else to notify you that this is occurring.
Michael S.
I received a call from a Mark Anderson saying he was with SSA I believed it to be legit. So I presented him with some info not my social. Not all of it. Is this legit. Said a car was found in Texas rented by me. It feels wrong. Not sure. thanks.
sam
I got a call today from 800-912-8410 regarding the same. The person identified himself as Officer Ryan Russel with badge number 02840175. He said that all my assets will be seized and asked me to fill a declaration form numbered CM 134577. He also asked me to talk to his supervisor Eric Wilson to talk about the form. And he also mentioned there is the final call. It looked scary as I never heard of it before. I gave him my first and last name and last 4 of SSN and nothing much. Moreover, he gave me the correct address of SSA 1100 W High Rise, Security Blvd, Baltimore, MD 21235.
rene m.
just got a call about this scam, wireless caller, number is 202-763-5710 according to my caller id
jack m.
Received telephone call 8-7-19 from name on caller ID A Richards threatening arrest etc to call 703-349-7095. I didn’t pick up it was on my voice mail. I AM REPORTING IT.
Muhammad
Just received a recorded call from the following number informing me that my SSN has been suspended if I want to resolve the issue press some number to talk.
+1 800 471-7364
after this call I have started researching on the internet and found this article, I believe the call I received it must be a scam.
A.C.
Hi, Muhammad. Thanks for checking in with us. We do not usually make random calls. If anyone receives calls saying that they are from Social Security, do not give out any personal information. Suspicious calls should be reported to the Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or online. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a new site specific to Social Security scams, here. Thanks, again.