Red Flags with Social Security

By Gregg Wendorf
Advance News Journal

In the news lately, stories of multiple people falling prey to Social Security scammers. They prey on people’s fear, sound legit over the phone, and before you know it, you’ve lost part or all of your savings to some guy living in Kazakhstan. Or your elderly parents have, and now you’re in charge of cleaning up the mess. Good luck. Once the money has left the bank account, there’s no getting it back.

To find out what to do or not to do, the Social Security Admin has the Do’s and the Don’ts published on its website.

The IRS is another stomping ground for scammers. They prey on fear — “The IRS is calling you.” And because a lot of people freak out when they hear “IRS,” they are more vulnerable to scam artists who are saying over the phone, “You need to send us money, and you need to do it now, or…” To verify the IRS is actually calling, you can call 1-800-829-1040 to find out if the call is legit before wiring any money to a fictitious account.

The SSA Scoop

Taking it from the top, here’s what the SSA has to say about scammers and how to not fall prey to them. The only reason this is front-page news is that the number of these scams is on the rise, and since the Valley has so many residents over the age of 65, South Texas is ripe picking grounds for these white-collar criminals.

From the SSA: Social Security employees do contact the public by telephone for business purposes. If there is a problem with your Social Security number or record, we will typically mail you a letter. Generally, we will call you if you: # Have recently applied for a Social Security benefit.

# Are currently receiving payments and need to update your record.

# Have specifically requested a phone call from us.

But we will never:

# Threaten you with arrest of legal action.

# Suspend your Social Security number (SSN).

# Demand immediate payment from you.

# Require payment by cash, gift card, pre-paid debit card, internet currency, or wire transfer.

# Ask for gift card numbers over the phone or that you wire or mail cash.

# Ask for personal details or banking information to give you a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

Fraudsters pretend to be government employees and claim your identity has been stolen or that there is another problem with your SSN, record, or benefits. These criminals continue to evolve and find new ways to steal your money and personal information.

To learn more about Social Security related scams go to the Protect Yourself from Social Security Scams and Scam Alert | Office of the Inspector General pages.

If you believe you are being scammed, you may call the Office of Inspector General at 1-800-447-8477.