FTC Warns of Social Security Scam

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a new warning regarding a new scam that tricks people into thinking their social security benefits are in danger.

The FTC has posted a sample of the call on their webpage that can be accessed here. The FTC states:

The Social Security Administration scam is the number one scam reported to the FTC right now. People filed nearly 73,000 reports about Social Security imposters in the first six months of 2019, with reported losses of $17 million. (You can explore the data about imposter scams and losses at ftc.gov/exploredata.)

The Chicago Tribune has a story on how the scam works:

The most recent scam happened Sept. 12, when a Glencoe resident received a phone call from an unknown person who deceived the victim by falsely claiming that her Social Security number was involved in an identity theft, and advising her she would need to pay for a new number, Glencoe Public Safety Deputy Chief Rich Weiner said.

The caller then directed the woman to visit several area Target stores to buy gift cards to allegedly pay for a new Social Security number, prompting her to purchase almost $17,000 worth of gift cards, before she was warned by a store employee that she appeared to be the victim of a scam, Weiner said.

Fox 5 in Atlanta has the following advice from the FTC on what to do:

Your Social Security number is not about to be suspended.

The real Social Security Administration will never call to threaten your benefits.

The real SSA will never tell you to wire money, send cash, or put money on a gift card.

This scam is especially troublesome for older consumers and care should be taken to ensure our own family members do not become victims.