On February 18, 2020, the CFPB published a blog post titled “Five ways to recognize a Social Security scam.” The article begins by explaining that Social Security scams are the most commonly reported type of fraud and scam, and such scams are continuing to evolve. Therefore, it is important that consumer understand how to recognize a scam in order to protect themselves from illicit actors.
In their article, the CFPB provides the following five tips to determine whether something is a scam:
“1. Threatening arrest or legal action: If you receive a threatening phone call claiming that there‘s an issue with your Social Security number or benefits, it’s a scam. The Social Security Administration (SSA) will never threaten you with arrest or other legal action if you don’t immediately pay a fine or fee.
2. Emails or texts with personally identifiable information: If there’s a legitimate problem with your Social Security number or record, the SSA will mail you a letter to notify you of any issues.
3. Misspellings and grammar mistakes: If the caller follows up with emails containing falsified letters or reports that appear to be from the SSA or SSA’s OIG, look closely. The letters may use government "jargon" or letterhead that appears official in order to help convince victims, but they may also contain misspellings and grammar mistakes.
4. Requests for payment by gift or pre-paid card, cash, or wire transfer: If you do need to submit payments to the SSA, the agency will mail a letter with payment instructions and options through U.S. mail. You should never pay a government fee or fine using retail gift cards, cash, internet currency, wire transfers, or pre-paid debit cards. Scammers ask for payment this way because it’s difficult to trace and recover.
5. Offers to increase benefits in exchange for payment: Similarly, SSA employees will never promise to increase your Social Security benefits, or offer other assistance, in exchange for payment.”
The article concludes by encouraging consumers to “protect others by spreading the word” about potential scams. As we have repeated advised in the past, this type of article from a known consumer protection agency could be a good tool for financial institution staff to use in attempts to convince consumers that a scam may be present.
The full blog post can be found here.
