Probably not. At least, not from the real SSA. But how many of you have gotten calls from someone who said they were the Social Security Administration? And maybe showed the real SSA phone number (1-800-772-1213) or a number close to it on your caller ID? Lots, right?
We’ve seen a spike in the number of people reporting those fake SSA calls to us. Since January 2018, we’ve gotten more than 63,000 reports of this scam. Three percent of those people reported a loss – and they lost $16.6 million (with a median loss of $1,484).
You can hear what the scam sounds like here. The caller usually says your Social Security number (SSN) has been suspended because of suspicious activity, or because it’s been involved in a crime. Sometimes, the scammer wants you to confirm your SSN to reactivate it. Sometimes, he says your bank account is about to be seized – but if you go put your money on gift cards and then give him the codes, SSA can help keep it safe. (Of course, you never want to do that, because then your money is just gone.)
To report this scam, go to ftc.gov/complaint. But if you already gave one of these callers your SSN and you're worried about identity theft, visit IdentityTheft.gov/ssa. And if you get one of these calls, remember:
To hear more from the honest-to-goodness SSA and the FTC about these scams, follow the Facebook Live at noon tomorrow on the SSA’s Facebook page.
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