The Social Security Administration (SSA) and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) launched a joint public service nnouncement (PSA) campaign addressing a nationwide telephone impersonation scheme. SSA and the OIG continue to receive reports from across the country about fraudulent phone calls from people falsely claiming to be Social Security employees. Calls can even "spoof" Social Security's national customer service number as the incoming number on the caller ID. The new PSAs will air on TV and radio stations across the country to alert the public to remain vigilant against potential fraud.
The public is urged to always be cautious and to avoid providing sensitive information such as their Social Security number or bank account information to unknown people over the phone or internet. Readers should be extra careful about unexpected phone calls. If a call is received, individuals can take the caller's information, hang up, and contact the official phone number of the business agency the caller claims to represent. People should never reveal personal data to any stranger that calls them.
Social Security employees do occasionally contact people - generally those who have ongoing business with the agency - by telephone for business purposes. However, Social Security employees will never threaten a person or promise a Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information. In those cases, the call is fraudulent, and people should not engage with the caller. If a person receives these calls, he or she should report the information to the OIG Fraud Hotline at 800-269-0271 or at https://oig.ssa.gov/report.
The SSA's message to the public is that anyone who receives a questionable call claiming to be from SSA or the OIG should just hang up. The new PSA addressing the telephone impersonation scheme is available at http://www.youtube.com/socialsecurity.
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