4 Tips to Avoid Getting Scammed by Criminals Claiming to Be Social Security Employees

Scam calls by impersonators claiming to be from the Social Security Administration (“SSA”) are on the rise. Fraudsters, utilizing both prerecorded voices, as well as live callers, are making the rounds harassing innocent people over the phone in hopes of securing private information like Social Security numbers and bank account information. Below are four tips that may help to protect you from such scam artists.

1.      If you received a suspicious call from an individual claiming to be from Social Security, feel free to end the call and call SSA directly at (800) 772-1213 to confirm the legitimacy of the call. SSA does keep contact logs for individuals they are trying to get in touch with. Thus, if SSA made a call to you, there likely are notations in their computer system explaining what information they had hoped to obtain. Call SSA directly before divulging private information if you are at all unsure of the authenticity of the caller.

2.      If you are not applying for or receiving any type of Social Security benefit, it is unlikely that SSA has called you. SSA does occasionally call people to discuss their pending claims or applications for benefits. However, SSA will never randomly solicit a person who has no prior or current dealings with them. Additionally, the government prefers to correspond with claimants via mail, so nine out of ten times, you will receive a letter, rather than a call from SSA, even if you have a matter pending with them.

3.      SSA will never threaten you. If you receive a call from SSA threatening legal action against you, hang up.  SSA does not make threatening phone calls to individuals demanding private information to avoid criminal or civil proceedings.

4.      SSA does not use automated calls very often. SSA will not utilize robotic voices to make a threatening call to you. The only time I have ever seen SSA use a computerized voice to contact a claimant is when their hearing office reminds claimants of hearing dates. They do not ask you to call back with private information when they issue these automatic reminders. 

Got a question about SSDI or SSI that you need us to answer? Please check out our website at www.westcoastdisability.com . We try to provide you with helpful information on our website that will allow you to successfully navigate the Social Security Disability process. Also, feel free to email me your questions at megan@westcoastdisability.com or call me at (800) 459-3017 x 103.