How to Identify and Avoid Common Social Security Scams

Learn about tactics used in fraud and how to protect yourself

Patrick J. Kiger,

In this story

Social Security numbers are the skeleton keys to identity theft. And what better way to get someone’s Social Security number than by pretending to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA)?

With the announcement that there are new login requirements for those who created My Social Security online accounts before Sept. 18, 2021, experts warn that scammers may take advantage of Social Security recipients who may be confused by the switch. (See here for updated step-by-step instructions)

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“Criminals take advantage of these big changes. We would urge people to be suspicious of any call offering to help you change your login credentials,” says Amy Nofziger, director of victim support at AARP’s Fraud Watch Network.

Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) received 73,626 reports of Social Security impersonators and related scams in fiscal 2023. That’s up from 64,773 the previous year, a 13.7 percent increase.

Although those numbers are down dramatically from 2020’s record-breaking statistics, it’s not for scammers’ lack of trying. Of the more than 40 billion scam calls flagged by T-Mobile’s customer security tools in 2022, the most recent year for which a breakdown was available, around 13 percent — or more than 5.4 billion — were from Social Security impostors.

And now impostors have artificial intelligence as a tool to make their communications more convincing. “Scammers’ embrace of AI has made things exponentially worse,” says Shawna Reeves, special projects consultant for Legal Assistance for Seniors in Oakland, California. “Because of AI, scam calls, emails and texts have become more personalized, and thus, harder to detect.”

Warning signs of a Social Security scam

The scam starts when crooks call or send you a text, a letter or a social media message, in which they claim to be officials from the SSA or the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General.

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In an effort to seem authentic, they may use the name of an actual SSA employee or send what looks like an official SSA letterhead attached to an email or text message.

To feign legitimacy, they may recite “badge numbers” or even create counterfeit versions of the IDs federal workers use to gain entry to government buildings. They might text or email images of the fake credentials to “prove” they’re Social Security representatives. SSA employees will not send images of their IDs.

Then criminals may try various other scams.

Have you seen this scam?

• Call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360 or report it with the AARP Scam Tracking Map.
• Get Watchdog Alerts for tips on avoiding such scams.

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Common Social Security scams

1. Benefit increase. The supposed SSA representative calls bearing good news — say, an increase in your benefits. To get the extra money, you just have to pay a fee or verify your name, date of birth and Social Security number. Armed with those identifiers, scammers can effectively hijack your account, asking SSA to change the address, phone number and direct deposit information on your record, thus diverting your benefits.
2. Suspended Social Security number. An impersonator tells you that your Social Security number will be suspended and that your benefits will end unless you immediately pay a fee. They’ll demand payment in gift cards, a wire transfer, cryptocurrency or through a payment app. It’s a fake dilemma; the real SSA wouldn’t threaten you or suspend your Social Security number.
3. Your number was used in a crime. An impersonator claims that your Social Security number has been linked to criminal activity and that you’re in danger of going to jail. “They’ll say, ‘OK, your Social Security number was used to rent a car that was found abandoned in El Paso, Texas, with drugs and blood in it. We’re going to send somebody out to arrest you,’ ” explains Steve Baker, a former Federal Trade Commission official who publishes the Baker Fraud Report newsletter. Once the impersonators have frightened their targets, they’ll sometimes tell them that the only way to avoid arrest is to send money. In one such scheme, an Indiana man and coconspirators in the U.S. and overseas allegedly pressured people into withdrawing large sums of cash and sending it by FedEx to avoid arrest. The ring stole approximately $1.5 million that way, before it was uncovered and broken up by federal law enforcement.
4. Your bank account is in danger. The impersonator tells you that because your Social Security number has been stolen, your bank accounts are at risk, Baker says. “They’ll say, ‘What we need to do is get all of your money out and put it in a safe account or some sort of government-controlled account.’ ”

Does Social Security call you?

Social Security almost never contacts people out of the blue. It will text you only if you opted to receive notifications that way or to verify your identity when you access your online My Social Security account. And if you have an old My Social Security account, you may receive an email from the SSA informing you of the login change. (These emails should always originate from a “.gov” address. See below for more tips).