Greg's Corner

This Social Security scam uses kindness instead of threats

Normally when we hear about a Social Security scam the victim is being threatened with having their benefits suspended. For example, one of the more common scams is when someone calls you saying that your Social Security number was used in a crime and your benefits will be suspended. Then you’ll be told that the problem can be resolved if you make some kind of payment. More recently, we’ve heard of a scam that does the exact opposite.

A man from Louisiana received a call from someone claiming to be with the Social Security Administration. He was told that they were in the process of updating the man’s file and that he could be eligible for an increase in benefits. The man stated that he thought it was the real SSA since the person who called was discussing the cost of living which is why he may have been eligible for an increase.

The man did end up giving the caller personal and financial information. When he went to the bank to get his most recent Social Security payment, it wasn’t there. He called the real SSA who told him that the scammers redirected his payments to somewhere else. Luckily, the SSA is correcting the issue.

Unless you have an ongoing issue that you’ve already discussed with the SSA, they will not call you out of the blue. They will not threaten you with arrest or a suspension of benefits. They won’t call to tell you that you could have an increase in benefits either. This goes for emails as well. The SSA does the majority of its communication by mail.

If you receive a phone call from someone claiming to be from the SSA hang up. Then call the SSA at 1 (800) 772-1213 to make sure there isn’t a legitimate issue.