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WATCH OUT FOR SCAMS
It seems there are scams all over the place these
days. You’ve
won the lottery of some obscure country or a needy millionaire in Europe
is seeking your help transferring funds to the United States.
These kinds of scams can be upsetting, particularly when you realize
the reason they exist — because so many people fall for them.
Especially upsetting are the scams that target people who depend on Social
Security benefits — and use Social Security’s name in their
shady dealings.
Recently, we have heard of a number of scams where individuals posing
as Social Security employees call and ask for personal information like
your name, Social Security number and bank account information. The caller
alleges that we need this information so we can issue you additional
funds or rebates or they allege that because of a computer glitch your
personal information has been lost.
Another scam used an email that was designed to look like it came from
Social Security. It provided information about the annual cost-of-living-adjustment
and directed readers to a website designed to look like Social Security’s
site so people could “update their information” — valuable
information to identity thieves and criminals.
In an effort to combat such scams, we want to make
one thing perfectly clear: Social Security will not send you an email
asking you to give us your personal information, such as your Social
Security number, date of birth, or other private information. If someone
saying they are from Social Security does email you requesting information,
don’t respond
to the message. Instead, contact your local Social Security office or
call us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) to see whether we really
need any information from you.
Whatever you do, don’t fall victim to a scam. Don’t give
out your personal information.
Social Security and the Office of Inspector General (OIG) take these
scams very seriously. We do everything we can to stop the perpetrators
and educate the public. To report suspicious activity, please call the
OIG Hotline at 1-800-269-0271. (If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call
the OIG TTY number at 1-866-501-2101.) A Public Fraud Reporting form
is also available online at OIG’s website: https://www.socialsecurity.gov/oig/public_fraud_reporting/form.htm.
You will always receive prior notification
from us by mail or telephone before a personal visit is made. When in
doubt, contact us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) and we can verify
the identity of the Social Security employee who has contacted you.
For additional information from other government sources
regarding Scams and Identity Theft, visit the OIG's Links
of Interest web page.
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