Yes, we are discussing Social Security Number Scam. Phone scammers have been prevalent in recent times as fraud callers try to cash in on the fear of tax audits, government and IRS. However, fake calls by IRS aren’t all the scammers may use this season.
Well, as per many reports, a scam of Social Security Number is hunting down senior citizens.
Suspended Social Security Number Scam is here
As reported by ABC11, the victims of Social Security Number Scam who get calls from scammers who claim to be from the department of Social Security Administration. It is then claimed by callers that the victim has committed an act of crime and the government has thereby suspended the social security number they have. This is followed by asking of personal information. They are also asked to pay fine and recover their numbers.
In yet another story of Social Security Number Scam, reported Monroe County, people were told that their security numbers were suspended because of “suspicious activity”. They are then asked to enter “1” to connect with a security representative.
Payments asked via Gift Cards By Social Security Number Scam
In both the versions of the Social Security Number Scam, the victims have been robbed of their personal information and asking for payment to “reactivate” the security number. The scammers of the social security number scam have even asked for payments via gift cards and wire transfers.
While the social security number scam came out last year, the calls have become more and more frequent since the last month that the FTC had to issue a few tweets addressing the issue.
“Government imposter scams made up nearly half of the 535,417 imposter scam reports to the FTC in 2018. Many government imposter scam reports involved fraudsters who pretended to be from @SocialSecurity. The scammers tell people their Social Security number has been suspended, or that there’s some other problem to get them to reveal their SSN or pay to “reactivate” it. In reality, Social Security numbers are NEVER suspended and @SocialSecurity will NEVER require you to pay to obtain one.”
Here are the tips offered by FTC to protect yourself from being a victim of scam:
-Do not give personal information via phone or email.
-Never trust a given name, email or number just because it has a connection with the government. The government uses postal mail.
-Report a Social Security Number scam to FTC, if you notice one.
-Please directly contact government agencies using web address and phone numbers if you are a Social Security Number scam victim.
You may contact the social security number which is toll-free at 1-800-772-1213 and you may also dial to verify if it’s legit. Even deaf callers can call for help at the TTY number which is 1-800-325-0778.
#ScamAlert: Victim received call from someone pretending to be @SocialSecurity Administration & told victim her social security # was suspended. Victim was told to purchase $3,000 in @GooglePlay gift cards to unsuspended account, which she did & gave scammer card numbers. #HangUp pic.twitter.com/BrBtndQmzO
— NYPD 19th Precinct (@NYPD19Pct) March 18, 2019
