AARP Eye Center
Scammers are spoofing the Social Security Administration’s 1-800 number (which means it appears on caller ID that the actual federal agency is calling you) in order to get you to provide vital personal information.
How It Works:
The AARP Fraud Watch Network was recently debriefed by the Office of the Acting Inspector General (OIG) of a new scam that is becoming more prevalent by the day. The OIG advises that scammers are spoofing caller ID to trick people into thinking that the Social Security Administration is calling. The callers then attempt to engage with the recipients and get them to provide important financial or personal information.
Spoofing involves using technology to change the number that appears on caller ID to something different. In this case, the calls appear to be coming from the Social Security Administration (SSA), displaying the phone number 1-800-772-1213 (the SSA’s national customer service number), and the caller verbally identifies as an SSA employee. The typical stated reason for the call is to collect additional information to increase the person’s benefit payment or to prevent benefits from being terminated.
What You Should Know:
What You Should Do:
This is what I do.
If the call is from the local SSA office; I have their number. I tell whoever is calling that I'll call them back and then I do. You are right, sometimes they do call for customer services purposes but usually it is when you have had some recent interaction; they usually don't call out of the blue.
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