Inspector General Warns Public About Social Security Advisory Board-Related Scam
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: May 17, 2019
The Inspector General of Social Security, Gail S. Ennis, is warning the public about a new variation of increasingly common government employee impersonation scams, this time involving the Social Security Advisory Board. The Advisory Board has reported that individuals are receiving scam phone calls displaying the board’s phone number on caller ID. The callers are reportedly attempting to obtain personal information, including Social Security numbers. If you receive this type of call, you should not engage with the caller or provide personal information or money in response to requests or threats.
These callers are employing tactics similar to impersonation schemes involving the IRS, SSA, and the SSA OIG. Inspector General Ennis advises that callers may use a variety of false scenarios or threats to obtain personal information or payments, often requested through gift cards or prepaid debit cards.
However, the Social Security Advisory Board typically does not contact the general public to request personal information over the phone. Moreover, government employees will never threaten you to obtain personal information or payments. In those cases, the call is fraudulent, and you should just hang up.
“This caller-ID spoofing scheme has unfortunately evolved to include the Social Security Advisory Board, but it is the same type of scam, attempting to mislead people by using the trusted name of Social Security,” Inspector General Ennis said. “I encourage everyone to alert your family and friends about how common these scams are, and to be very cautious when speaking with unknown callers, even if you recognize the caller ID.”
Inspector General Ennis urges the public not to provide sensitive information over the phone or internet unless you are certain of who is receiving it. You should also never wire money or add money to a prepaid debit card to pay for any official government service.
If you receive a suspicious call, you may report that information online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report or by calling (800) 269-0271, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern Time. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a new site specific to Social Security scams: https://identitytheft.gov/ssa.
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Andrew Cannarsa, OIG Communications Director
Andrew Cannarsa, OIG Communications Director
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Robert
best solution for is to make nightly announcements on all news broadcasts that this is a big scam, IRS and Social Security will not call you like this and start making it a felony to ask for a social security number over the telephone!
Ed G.
I enjoy all these scam calls and keep them on the line as long as possible. I finally offer them my sympathy that they have to earn a living doing this since I say I know they are untouchables from India and the only employment they can get is cleaning sewers or making scam calls. I ask if their poor mothers know what they are doing for a living and how sad they would be of they knew. I further state that I’m sure their fathers would be disappointed also if their mothers could only remember who the father might have been. I must get an Indian translation dictionary to find our the meaning of some of the curses yelled at me at the end of the calls.
Anita O.
Yep, me too. Will it do any good to report what seems to be a common scam (“suspended number”)? SSA must be flooded with reports.
Gerald D.
Just got a call from “Mainline” 1-760-205-5134.
Your SS number has been compromised, Please call.
Answers as “Thank You for calling the Social Security Administration.”
Obvious Scam.
Summer
I received 5 of these calls today; the telephone numbers are below:
986-771-2368
913-519-7773
986-237-4259
913-120-1241
986-130-5857
913-512-4629
Each time a recorded message was left on my voicemail. The voicemails seemed urgent therefore I answered the 2nd time I received a call from 913-512-4629. The automated message stated my SSN was about to be suspended, that there may be a warrant out for my arrest, and I was transferred to a live person who stated he was an officer/investigating the case. He asked me to spell my name, however before I finished he asked me to identify myself, but incorrectly used my maiden name. I have been married for 15 years so that was a red flag. Then he asked me to confirm my home address and the address he had was not current. I did not provide the current address even though he was abrasive and aggressive. I immediately hung up and began reseaching why the SSA would suspend my SSN and came across this article. Thank you for making us aware of these scams.
L.A.
Hi Summer. 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.
Don M.
Just got a spam call from 203.516.4230. Verizon rated it highly probable spam and it was a recording I am sure blasted across country
Gladys G.
I have been receiving phone messages from 888-578-0470 regarding my SS and they will cancel if they don’t hear from me. I did call back, but did not give them any info. I just said you should have all this info and they disconnected.
Daniel M.
I’ve been getting calls like this for a long long time. I usually ignore them. I just wanted to comment on the replies some of you guy’s get from the “SSA”. It sounds like their a bunch of robot’s reading from a script. Their not worried about us average. American Joe’s/Jane’s. They could care less if we’re getting scammed but if the shoe was on the other foot and they where getting those calls and they were getting scammed out of “their” money. Trust and believe rain would come down on those scammers parade and they would be shut down in an instant. As long as “their” money ain’t being touched they could care less about ours. I don’t need a reply you can keep your robot replies to yourself.
Ranna S.
I just received a call saying my social security number had been used to commit a million dollars in fraudulent bank activity in another state. It sounded so real, they said I was going to be arrested or I had to give them the phone number of my local police department. That scared me, thinking I could be wrongly arrested. The person even gave me his name and “badge number.” Sounded so real. Then I told him I was going to call the social security administration myself to find out what was going on. When I pulled up the website I saw the notification about this type of fraudulent phone call. I was on the phone for about 10 minutes and the caller never asked me to give date of birth or full SS#. So, he didn’t get anything from me. So scary though.
barry
Is this a legit SSA office number 866-226-2306?
I recently filed for benefits and got a message to call that number.