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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Don F.
I received such a phone call (my benefits would be frozen) and reported same to the SSA.
R.F.
Thank you for sharing, Don. SSA employees occasionally contact citizens by telephone for customer-service purposes. An SSA employees may call you in limited situations, such as if you recently filed a claim or have other Social Security business that are pending. If a person receives a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA, citizens may report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online via https://oig.ssa.gov/report. Thanks!
Dikibujiri A.
Hello,
I do appreciate your enforcement action to sanitize our
country America.I am one of the victims but yet to receive my hard earn money.I worked hard day and night but was told my non payment delayed as a result of over site and that had been settled but yet to be paid.I worked hard to help improve the economic of the world.As it is all my office
computers are outdated,flood cover my home and my private offices where i carry out my job is not in function
due to finance but i have enough to feed my people.The
hardship is too much and tax threat is still on.If i do not have access to my fund how can i pay my tax.I need to build an office for my research work that will help America and other country mostly my home. I have seen your good will and concern.You are really fighting for our interest.More grace.I need more integration.
Andrey G.
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June M.
I recently received a call for free body braces. They somehow learned that I was having knee surgery. I asked for their phone # and they told me they were the in-between for free items from SS. I then told him I would deal with my local SS, needless to say they hung up.
JUDY k.
these people have been calling me for several times now and it just isn’t about social security it is also calls about fraud on IRS and police will be at my door to arrest me if I don’t do the following and at that point I hang up I called back to see who answers and they hanged up fast.
Beth
I just received a voicemail from ElPaso. I will try and copy & paste for you . The imposters need to be be prosecuted.
“Frank calling you from the Department of social security administration and the reason you have received his phone call from our department is to inform you that there is a legal unfortunate actions filed on your _______________ number for criminal activities so when you get this ___________ revert as soon as possible long our number is 915-485-7414 I repeat 915-485-7414 before we begin with the legal proceedings thank you and have a nice day…”
R.F.
Thank you for contacting us, Beth. Please report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online via https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
William M.
I received 2 such calls from (240) 442-8672 adn 718-403-1176.
My initial google search brought me to the following site:
https://www.ssa.gov/fraudreport/oig/public_fraud_reporting/form.htm
to report fraud – I was uncertain if the site was legit – in light of the warnings.
Carisa
These scams are not ONLY being done over the phone, sadly I’m a victim first hand, my Debit Card “Direct Express” the middleman to my SSI deposits, basically my financial life line has been wiped out of every last penny I had!! When Calling to check my balance to my shock it was $0!! After only a few minutes on the phone w/customer service they realized something was NOT right, their response was ma’am “it’s looks like ur card has been compromised.” Compromised HOW? Well too break it down, I live in MA and someone in TX had made made 3 separate purchases at a Dollar General all totaling a little over $500! So w/panic, confusion, frustration and anger flowing thru me I had a million ??’s but the main one was “now what?” Let’s me just say I have NEVER dealt w/such rude, incompetent, insensitive people in my life! They told me they wud send me a new card and I had the expectations the new card wud replace the money taken? Nope not the case when I received it, so I called back They basically said these purchases were pending and needed to settle b4 I cud dispute them! WHAT? U cancelled my card there’s no need for anything to be settled?! Inform the merchant these were fraudulent purchases and give me my money back on a different card! Their response”a merchant legally has 5 days to collect the $ after a Card has been closed, and if I want to dispute the charges I need to let them know!” Of course I want to to dispute the charges I did over 2wks ago! Long story short, they told me I wud have to wait 45-90 for fraud to investigate! The call didn’t end well, naturally how were me and and my child going to survive the month! Obviously my privacy, finances and means to survive were violated and I need answers! I’m currently writing this at my local SS office where I’ve been waiting for 3 hours already, if anyone has information on where to go from here I’d appreciate it greatly!! Thank you!
Cheryl S.
SSA is Outstanding. Keeps me updated on specific topics in a timely manner. All questions are answered ito resolve any concerns. The employees are always considerate & professional.
R.F.
We appreciate your thoughts, Cheryl. Thanks for your comment!
Veronica G.
Thanks for the reminder. I’ve never been sure all the computer technology was the right thing to run with, in so many areas. SS, banking, shopping on line etc. just too much temptation for those who are temted to really be bad.