August 8, 2019 – Have you received a phone call recently from individuals claiming to be Social Security Administration? Callers claiming to have your social security account locked up may be trying to scam you into giving out your personal information. An article from AARP.org has some do’s and don’ts for you to consider.
Don’t
• Don’t call a phone number left on your voice mail by a robocaller. If you want to contact SSA, call the customer-service line at 800-772-1213.
• Don’t assume a call is legitimate because it appears to come from 800-772-1213. Scammers use “spoofing” technology to trick caller ID.
• Don’t give your Social Security number or other personal information to someone who contacts you by email. SSA never requests information that way.
• Don’t click links in purported SSA emails without checking them. Mouse over the link to reveal the actual destination address. The main part of the address should end with “.gov/” — including the forward slash. If there’s anything between .gov and the slash, it’s fake.
Do!
• Do hang up if someone calls you out of the blue and claims to be from SSA.
• Do be skeptical if a caller claims to be an “officer with the Inspector General of Social Security.” Scammers appropriate official-sounding and often actual government titles to make a ruse seem authentic.
• Do set up a My Social Security accountonline and check it on a monthly basis for signs of anything unusual, even if you have not yet started collecting benefits.
• Do install a robocall-blocking app on your smartphone, or sign up for a robocall-blocking service from your mobile network provider.
More Resources
• You can call Social Security’s customer service line at 800-772-1213 to confirm whether a communication purporting to be from SSA is real.
• If you get an impostor call or email, report it to SSA’s Office of the Inspector General, online or at 800-269-0271.
• If your Social Security number has been stolen, file an identify theft report with the Federal Trade Commission, which can help you develop a recovery plan.
To view the entire AARP article please click: https://www.aarp.org/money/scams-fraud/info-2019/social-security.html