Not actually from the government.(Photo: Shutterstock)
What's the biggest fraud facing seniors today? A scam in which callers attempt to trick theminto giving them money or handing over their Social Security numbers.
|Senators said Wednesday that Americans reported losing close to$38 million last year to this Social Security scam, which they saidis a relatively new scheme targeting seniors that has grown at analarming rate.
|Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bob Casey, D-Pa., chairman andranking member of the Senate Aging Committee, stated at theWednesday hearing, titled "That's Not the Government Calling: ProtectingSeniors from the Social Security Impersonation Scam," that theSocial Security Scam has become the most-reported fraud to theFederal Trade Commission and the Aging Committee's FraudHotline.
|The Social Security Administration launched a new public serviceannouncement campaign on Jan. 21 to warn people about the ongoingnationwide telephone impersonation scheme.
|The scammers mislead victims into making cash or gift cardpayments for help with purported identity theft, or to avoid arrestfor bogus Social Security number problems, according to SSA.
|"To be clear, the scams we are discussing today are not SocialSecurity program fraud," Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saultold the committee in his testimony last month. "Rather, they areschemes to trick people into thinking a credible organization — abank, a utility company, a credit card company or the government,including SSA — is calling so that they give up their personalinformation, pay money or both."
|Said Saul: "There are many variations. Scammers play on emotionslike fear to get people to act without thinking."
|For example, a caller may say he is from SSA and that a senior'sSocial Security number is suspended or has been used in acrime.
|"The caller identification may be spoofed to appear to originatefrom a government number. The caller may ask you to provideinformation like your SSN to reactivate it," Saul said. "The callermay tell you your bank account will be seized and direct you tosend money or gift cards for safekeeping. If you comply, your moneyis gone. If you don't comply, the caller may threaten you witharrest."
|Since creating an online reporting form less than three monthsago, the Social Security Administration has received more than115,000 complaints. The form can be accessed at oig.ssa.gov.
|A new version of this scam is also emerging, Saul reported, inwhich fraudsters email fake documents in attempts to get people tocomply with their demands. "Victims have received emails withattached letters and reports that appear to be from Social Securityor the OIG," he said. "The letters may use official letterhead andgovernment jargon to convince victims they are legitimate; they mayalso contain misspellings and grammar mistakes."
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Melanie Waddell
Melanie is senior editor and Washington bureau chief of ThinkAdvisor. Her ThinkAdvisor coverage zeros in on how politics, policy, legislation and regulations affect the investment advisory space. Melanie’s coverage has been cited in various lawmakers’ reports, letters and bills, and in the Labor Department’s fiduciary rule in 2023. In 2019, Melanie received an Honorable Mention, Range of Work by a Single Author award from @Folio. Melanie joined Investment Advisor magazine as New York bureau chief in 2000. She has been a columnist since 2002. She started her career in Washington in 1994, covering financial issues at American Banker. Since 1997, Melanie has been covering investment-related issues, holding senior editorial positions at American Banker publications in both Washington and New York. Briefly, she was content chief for Internet Capital Group’s EFinancialWorld in New York and wrote freelance articles for Institutional Investor. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Towson University. She interned at The Baltimore Sun and its suburban edition.
