Scam Involves Calls from SSA Imposters
The Social Security Administration is asking people to be aware of a recent scam involving calls from people claiming to be from its Inspector General’s Office.
SSA said it has received several reports from people who received phony phone calls from individuals posing as OIG investigators. The caller indicates an issue exists regarding the person’s Social Security account or Social Security number and tells the person call a telephone number to address the issue. The number is not an SSA number.
When called, a recording comes on claiming to be “Nancy Jones,” an “officer with the Inspector General of Social Security.” The recording goes on to say the person’s Social Security account, Social Security Number and/or benefits are suspended and that the next step is to call 806-680-2373 to resolve the issue.
Calling the number provided should be avoided as it appears to be an attempt to acquire personal information. Using the information provided could lead to identity theft.
Identity theft involves the acquisition and use of a person’s private identifying information such as social security number, mother’s maiden name, passwords, banking information, etc. for financial gain. For example, if thieves obtain your credit card information, they can run up charges on your credit accounts if they have your identifying private information.
SSA says its investigators occasionally contact citizens by telephone, but they will not request sensitive personal information from a citizen over the phone.
“This phishing scheme is targeting unsuspecting persons for the purpose of Social Security benefit theft or identity theft,” said acting Inspector General Stone.
Stone warns citizens to avoid providing personal information such as your social security number or bank account numbers over the phone to people you don’t know unless you are certain who you are talking to.
“You must be very confident that the source is the correct business party, and that your information will be secure after you release it,” Stone said.
If You’re Not Sure it’s SSA on the Phone
If you receive a call, email, text or letter from someone claiming to be with the Social Security Administration or the OIG and you’re not sure they are telling the truth, you have several options in handling the call.
You can report the call to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online via https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
Or, you can report a suspicious communication—email, letter, text or phone call—that claims to be from SSA or the OIG, to 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.
SSA Generally Mails Out Letters Rather than Call
Most of the time, the Social Security Administration mails out notices on just about everything, but definitely anything that affects your benefit, either positively or negatively.
We generally send a letter asking you to contact us if we need more information, according to Ray Fernandez, a public relations officer with SSA. Remember that our official agency correspondence will always include our SSA seal and proper letterhead, he said.