The following is a warning from the Federal Trade Commission:

Good afternoon,

Today, the Bureau’s Office for Older Americans is forwarding an email about scams targeting your Social Security number. The email was sent by Jennifer Leach, Acting Associate Director, Division of Consumer and Business Education, Federal Trade Commission.

Fake Calls about your SSN

The FTC is getting reports about people pretending to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA) who are trying to get your Social Security number and even your money. In one version of the scam, the caller says your Social Security number has been linked to a crime (often, he says it happened in Texas) involving drugs or sending money out of the country illegally. He then says your Social Security number is blocked – but he might ask you for a fee to reactivate it, or to get a new number. And he will ask you to confirm your Social Security number.

In other variations, he says that somebody used your Social Security number to apply for credit cards, and you could lose your benefits. Or he might warn you that your bank account is about to be seized, that you need to withdraw your money, and that he’ll tell you how to keep it safe.

But all of these are scams. Here’s what you need to know:

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  social security scams

  The SSA will never (ever) call and ask for your Social Security number. It won’t ask you to pay for anything. And it won’t call to threaten your benefits.

• Your caller ID might show the SSA’s real phone number (1-800-772-1213), but that’s not the real SSA calling. Computers make it easy to show any number on caller ID. You can’t trust what you see there.
• Never give your Social Security number to anyone who contacts you. Don’t confirm the last 4 digits. And don’t give a bank account or credit card number – ever – to anybody who contacts you asking for it.
• Remember that anyone who tells you to wire money, pay with a gift card, or send cash is a scammer. Always. No matter who they say they are.

If you’re worried about a call from someone who claims to be from the Social Security Administration, get off the phone.

Then call the real SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). If you’ve spotted a scam, then tell the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Thank you,

Stacy Canan
Office for Older Americans
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

MUSINGS FROM DIANE:

How can anyone, but the world’s most filthy and depraved scum, prey on anyone else, especially the elderly who are barely getting by on their limited income?  Older folks have not been exposed to the scum of the earth that you and I have seen.  Many of these folks cannot buy necessary medicine or even food.  So help your older friends, relatives or neighbors by volunteering to advise them about the best way to deal with problems.