Inspector General Warns Public About SSA Impersonation Schemes
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: July 16, 2018
The Acting Inspector General of Social Security, Gale Stallworth Stone, is warning citizens about ongoing Social Security Administration (SSA) impersonation schemes. SSA and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have recently received several reports of suspicious phone calls claiming to be from SSA.
In one case, an automated recording states the person’s Social Security number (SSN) “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 if the person does not contact the provided phone number, the person’s assets will be frozen until the alleged issue is resolved. In another case, a caller claims to be from “SSA headquarters” and waits for the person to provide personal information, such as an SSN, address, and date of birth. In January, the OIG shared similar information from the Federal Trade Commission, which reported an increase in reports of suspicious phone calls from people claiming to be SSA employees.
SSA employees occasionally contact citizens by telephone for customer-service purposes. In only a few limited special situations, usually already known to the citizen, an SSA employee may request the citizen confirm personal information over the phone. If a person receives a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA, citizens should report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online via https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
Acting Inspector General Stone continues to warn citizens to be 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. “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.
If a person has questions about any communication—email, letter, text or phone call—that claims to be from SSA or the OIG, 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. (Those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can call Social Security’s TTY number at 1-800-325-0778.)
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Tags: fraud, Inspector General, Office of the Inspector General, OIG
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Andrew Cannarsa, OIG Communications Director
Andrew Cannarsa, OIG Communications Director
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JACKIE
THIS IS A QUITE IMPORTANT ARTICLE
DONALD G.
my ssi payments are lower than when I applied 20 years ago ..need case review .. on this and attorney speaker can not find out here I have tried everything .. to speak and show paper work on this and have corrected .. called ssi and get no place with them and took 6 months for informal hearing … please email back .. and direct me properly…
Snarky
Your SSI goes down when your other income including in-kind support goes up. See how it works?
STEVE J.
golly.gee.7891@gmail.com
Craig M.
I had a direct deposit check deposit of $835.00 DOLLARS stolen this year by some shitty scam nursing home in Massachussetts. Through fraudulent force and mental pressure.
If so called official vendor types can exploit mentally ill patients? If these so called responsible official type people can do this…why wouldn’t third rate criminals jump right in and steal from society’s WEAKEST AND LEAST PROTECTED PEOPLE.
You let so called “nursing home DUMPS”….. CON/cheat/ steal Social Security patrons out of their benefit through force and collusion, and mental pressure. I have been cheated TWICE without getting justice so far.
Snarky
Report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271
t t.
if they have the proper selection for it???
Jacqueline D.
I would like to Know about the Waiver 1115 program and the Waiver 1915 program for my son and I that are Disabled for the State of Tennessee. I have called several people in the Medicare Medicaid Office and they have no clue who I need to speak with. Then I called TennCare Medicaid and she was all huffy and gave me a phone number to Nashville. I left a message and my phone number and no one ever gets back with you. I guess my son’s health and my health are not important to anyone. He is only 15 in a Electric Wheelchair suffers from Spinal Muscular Atrophy and nobody knows nothing. I would love to get this Waiver so I can get him a Handicap Van that he so desperately needs AS YOU ALL PUT IT QUALITY OF LIFE, OR NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND. I would love to take my son to the movies, out to eat, let him go shopping or swimming or a little weekend getaway for the summer like every normal child. Not mine child though. I can’t take him to school or he can’t participate in any activities or attend a football game or try to get his driver’s permit or apply for a job most importantly go to the doctors and dentist and eye doctors. I have to wait on a transit van to come and get us then we had to wait 2 hours after his appointment for them to pick us up when we lived 10 mins away. My son was hungry and his back was hurting, his legs went numb from just sitting in a Electric Wheelchair. Do you all Know what that is like. No you don’t, I do because I have Neuropathy, Lupus fibromyalgia Rheumatoid arthritis and COPD and osteoarthritis. So I Know the feeling of loosing all the feeling from your waist down and can’t feel a thing and it’s not pleasant. I am 56 years old. So who is going to help us in a Emergency situation, how am I going to get him out in case of an emergency at home or at school. Can you answer them questions. What happened to the his Rights my rights and the AMERICAN DISABILITY ACT AND THE EXECUTIVE ORDERS THAT ATE IN PLACE BY THE DEPT OF JUSTICE. AND THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS OF THE STATE AND COUTY GOVERNMENT. NO ONE WANTS TO DO THERE JOB. AND HELP US. WHY CAN YOU ANSWER THAT. I WANT TO KNOW MY SON NEEDS TI KNOW THE TRUTH. HE DOESN’T TRUST THE GOVERNMENT OR THE SCHOOL SYSTEM OR THE PRESIDENT OR GOD. THIS IS WHAT THE WORLD DID TO HIM. LIED
Ginger S.
This is the wrong place to vent your rage. I feel your pain but all this guy is doing is trying to give a heads up on scams. He probably doesn’t even do that, it’s probably an assistant that does it.
Julie
Also the wrong place to criticize and make fun of other people. You should be absolutely ashamed of yourself and feel pretty stupid-which you obviously are.
tim t.
it sounds like a person that hasnt been able to get the proper help and i can totaly understand this.it is sometimes so frustrating to get anything done that you dont know what to do except explode just trying to get something done.this is our system unfortuniatly.
Snarky
People probably put you off because no one knows what in the heck you’re talking about. It seems you’ve lost your feeling from the neck up.
Robin S.
The people that need this warning, probably aren’t reading this alert.
But, hey, Richard H Canard….DELETE YOUR PHONE NUMBER!
Ginger S.
Too FUNNY!
Julie
I don’t know anything about Richard, but if he were my elderly parent who had just gotten almost all of his life savings stolen, I wouldn’t think it was the least bit funny. Hopefully it would have been YOUR inheritance. Hey, you can afford it-you’ve got such a great sense of humor!
Alfred W.
Thank you for this information.
King B.
What about those in the branches of SSA of fraud in Social Services to Foster Care even our caretakers of SSI checks, but thanks for the warning on phone calls.
Richard H.
My phone number has changed, it was 269-462-6406, it is now 269-462-6404.
Snarky
Who cares?
tim t.
i think he means the number from the scammer.
R.F.
Hello Richard. You can change your address and phone number using your personal my Social Security account. Thanks!
Logic A.
Are you making sure the scammers have your up to date number?
Rod M.
I’ve been contacted on two or three occasions, by someone claiming that I’m eligible for SSA, when I’m fact Im already receiving my benefits. When I confronted the caller they immediately disconnected the call.
R.F.
Thank you for sharing this information, Rod.
Just a reminder – If a person receives a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA, citizens should report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online via https://oig.ssa.gov/report. Thanks!