ALERT!
Social Security Administration Scam
You may be familiar with the IRS scam. A person calls saying you have failed to pay your back taxes and just to make you even more nervous, they may say that there is a warrant out for your arrest.
(Just a little tidbit about threats with warrants: real law enforcement officers will never call and give you a "heads up" that there is a warrant out for your arrest; it's usually used as a surprise tactic). The scammer directs you to pay them, usually with some sort of money card or I-Tunes card.
In this most recent scam, you receive a robocall claiming to be from the Social Security Administration office. As we have said before,
the number one red flag that you are a the target of a scam is FEAR, and this scam can make anyone fearful. The caller tells you
your Social Security number has been suspended because of suspicious activity, or because it was involved in a crime. You are asked to confirm your Social Security number, and/or told that you need to withdraw all your money from the bank and put the cash on a gift card or in other unusual ways for "safekeeping."
You may be told your accounts will be seized or frozen if you don't act quickly.
Additionally, you may be told to "press 1" to speak to a government "support representative" for help reactivating your Social Security number. There is no support person, and pressing "1" will only get you further in to the scammers web of deceit.
As we've discussed before, scammers use caller ID "spoofing" which makes the number that comes up look like the real Social Security Administration is calling. With such trickery, these scammers are good at convincing people to give up their Social Security numbers and other personal information. Do not fall for it! Hang up. Bottom line, do not engage in
any part of the conversation.
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