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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ralph d.
received telephone call threatening suspension of medi care benefits caller ID number is : +1 610 533- 8065
Donald R.
I have received two call this week about being taken to legal action of fraud within my Social Security number.
These calls have originated from Texas, supposedly. The person claims to be one Scott Meyers agent number DS-6798.
The phone number being used is 972-591-8689.
The man answering the phone has a Indian accent.
MFB a.
I got 2 calls from 469-200-4335 within a few hours today. The location was near extended family so I thought maybe it was an emergency. NOPE (of course)! SSA…my account fraudulent…etc. I decided to ride out the phone call (after pressing 1). I skeptically asked the accented woman on the other end what company this was, response was a stern “Maam…this is the Social Security Administration.” Me (laughing): “In what country!?” Her (harshed whisper): “You better disconnect you m*** f*** b*** !” *hangs up*
YIKES! LOL. Merry Christmas!
Marilyn M.
Just received one of the calls from Houston Texas. 210 468-6301 was number
Monika R.
On Nov 30, I applied for social security benefits. Yesterday, 12/18/2018, I received back-to-back telephone calls by one woman and one man who stated that I had applied for disability social security. I told both of them that I had NOT applied for disability social security. The first caller, the woman, hung up. I was able to ask the second caller, the man, “Alex,” how they had obtained my name and telephone number, and he replied that this information was obtained from a “marketing partner”. He said that he could not tell me who had provided that information because “company policy” does not allow revealing marketing partners. This is when I asked him whether his employer was a private company, and he said, yes, it was. I called both phone numbers back, and they are for “NATIONAL DISABILITY SERVICES”. 954-278-9071 and 954-597-5815. The question remains: how does a private company know my name and telephone number, and that I applied for social security?
Vonda V.
Monika, thank you for using our blog to reach out. As a Federal agency, the Privacy Act of 1974 requires us to protect the information we collect from you. We respect your right to privacy and will protect it when you visit our website. We have always treated the privacy of our customers with utmost importance. Check out our Privacy Policy which explains our online information practices. Of course, our policy does not apply to third-party websites or other search engines that may be used prior to accessing Social Security’s site.
All of our online applications use an identity verification process to protect the privacy of your identity and your Social Security information. Using our online services to file for benefits is safe and secure.
Rose A.
I just got a call from them, from a number in San Antonio.
Michael R.
I have received these calls myself from time to time. They usually leave a message on my voicemail along with a phone number. I never call them back. These people have also used the same scam by impersonating an IRS represenative. They leave a message on my voicemail claiming a warrent has been issued for my arrest. Again I do not call them back. All of us need to stand together and fight these scumbags who doing nothing more than trying to con us out of our hard earned money. We’ve worked too hard to get these benefits.
Shane S.
I got a phone call from Ssd at 9 am on the 17 of December about my benefits being suspended they asked for my social security number and I did got a another call saying my social security number is being used fraudulently I don’t know what to do to fix it with out your help so let please help
Vonda V.
Hi Shane, thank you for checking in with us. Unfortunately there are some Social Security impersonation schemes that we are warning citizens about. See our recent blog posts:
https://blog.ssa.gov/inspector-general-warns-public-about-oig-impersonation-schemes/
https://blog.ssa.gov/inspector-general-warns-public-about-caller-id-spoofing-scheme-misusing-ssa-customer-service-number/
If you have questions about any communication — email, letter, text or phone call — that claims to be from SSA, please contact your local Social Security office, or call Social Security’s toll-free customer service number at 1-800-772-1213, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, to verify its legitimacy (TTY number at 1-800-325-0778). You may also report the information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online via https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
Kathy P.
I received a phone call today and last month stating that my social security number was in fraud state..also I would face charges…this number showed from Amarillo, Texas 806-553-8076.
Vonda V.
Hi Kathy, thank you for checking in with us. Unfortunately there are some Social Security impersonation schemes that we are warning citizens about.
If you have questions about any communication — email, letter, text or phone call — that claims to be from SSA, please contact your local Social Security office, or call Social Security’s toll-free customer service number at 1-800-772-1213, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday, to verify its legitimacy (TTY number at 1-800-325-0778). You may also report the information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online via https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
Linda J.
Is to inform you that there is a legal enforcement action filed on your social security number for criminal activities. So when you get the message kindly call back at the earliest possible on our number that is 346-770-0001. I repeat 346-770-0001 before we begin with the legal proceedings. Thank you and have a nice day. This is the message I received today.