A Call From The Social Security Administration

With more and more "baby boomers" reaching the age of Social Security, the Office of the Inspector General reports an increase in fraudulent phone calls from scammers reporting to be employees of the Social Security Administration (SSA). They identify themselves as employees, and some even provide a toll-free number for call-backs. What they ask for are the usual ID points: your Social Security Number, date of birth, mother's maiden name and financial account information, such as the name of your bank and your account numbers. In some cases, the excuse for the call is that the SSA computers are down. Or, they claim, they need to verify enrollment in Medicare's prescription drug program. The intent of the call, however, is to get to your financial information and, eventually, take over your identity. Complicating matters is the fact that the SSA does, sometimes, phone people, especially when they need to follow-up on a previous application for services. However, the legitimate SSA employee will fully identify himself/herself and give you a contact number. At that point, you merely have to phone the SSA's toll-free number: 1-800-772-1213. And someone there will help you verify the reason for the call and the callers identity. If the call is a scam, the SSA will tell you so. At that point, you can file a fraudulent call claim by providing them with this information:the caller's alleged name, telephone number, time and date of the fraudulent, the information requested by the caller and any other identifying information or details about the call.