You’ve probably received a phone call stating that your social security number has been compromised.
For people who fall in love with these scams, the experience can add up to huge financial losses.
An elderly woman in Massachusetts lost more than $ 900,000 due to a Social Security tax fraud operation, according to the U.S. district attorney’s office in Illinois.
In January, a man in the Chicago area pleaded guilty to money laundering for his role in the plan, for which he used a fake Indian passport, fake name and fake address to open U.S. bank accounts to receive money from the US. victims.
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The call volume is high. A telecommunications company ended relations with customers making 27 million calls in a single day following warnings and citations from the inspector general of Social Security.
Since October, the government has received nearly 300,000 complaints related to social security.
Last year, more than 718,000 reports of Social Security-related phone scams were recorded, representing nearly $ 45 million in casualty losses.
“Scammers have been working for years to put a lot of effort into cheating people with their personal information and money,” said Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul.
The calls usually represent credit card companies, other companies, and even the Social Security Administration.
The caller can claim that there is a problem with your Social Security number or account. They can ask for your Social Security number or bank account information. And you may be threatened with arrest or a fine if you do not pay any fees.
“Scammers play with emotion, usually fear, to get people to act without thinking,” Saul said.
A new twist on scams is that perpetrators will use the real names of Social Security and other government officials and display fabricated government identifications or badge numbers.
“Hang up,” Saul said. “Do not interact with the caller.”
Scammers play with emotion, usually fear, to get people to act without thinking.
Andrew Saul
Commissioner of Social Security Administration
It’s also important to know that the SSA will never call you for any issues related to your social security number or email or text photos that purport to be official identification, said Gail Ennis, inspector general of Social Security.
“Never make payments with gift cards, bank transfers or cash email for any reason,” Ennis said.
If you receive a suspicious call, report it to the SSA Office Inspector General website.
On Thursday, the SSA conducts an annual campaign to help raise public awareness about how to manage these schemes.
Called Slam the Scam Day, it will include live events on social media to help educate the public about scams. USA.gov will host a Twitter chat at 3 p.m. Eastern, or 1 p.m. for Spanish speakers.
The SSA will host a live event on Facebook at 7 p.m. in the East, where the Federal Trade Commission will answer questions about the systems.
This year, CVS stores have agreed to help spread the message by making an ad for Saul in its 10,000 U.S. stores.
The campaign will coincide with the distribution of vaccines that is underway in certain CVS stores.
“We have a bit of a captive audience and we hope there are more people than usual in their stores,” Ennis said.
Other retailers that also help get the word out are Walmart and Home Depot.