A client brought this to my attention. She received the above letter in the mail. It looks very official, however it is a scam! Please protect yourself. It’s easy to fall for scams if you aren’t aware.
The scammers are trying to trick you to give them your personal information, giving them money or downloading malware onto your device. Scammers pretend to be from an agency to gain your trust. They will tell you that there is a problem that you need to have fixed “immediately”. They will try to pressure you into making a quick decision.
These are red flags. You can trust that Social Security will never:
- Threaten you with arrest or legal action because you don’t agree to pay money immediately.
- Suspend, Freeze or “Hold” your Social Security number.
- Claim to need personal information or payment to activate a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) or other benefit increase.
- Pressure you to take immediate action, including sharing personal information.
- Ask you to pay with gift cards, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or by mailing cash.
- Threaten to seize your bank account.
- Offer to move your money to a “protected” bank account.
- Demand secrecy.
Be skeptical and look for red flags. If you receive a suspicious call, text message, email, letter, or message on social media, the caller or sender may not be who they say they are. Scammers have also been known to:
- Use legitimate names of Office of Inspector General or Social Security Administration employees.
- “Spoof” official government phone numbers, or even numbers for local police departments.
- Send official-looking documents by U.S. mail or attachments through email, text, or social media message.
It is illegal to reproduce federal employee credentials and federal law enforcement badges. Federal law enforcement will never send photographs of credentials or badges to demand any kind of payment, and neither will federal government employees.
Clients have lost thousands of dollars. If they get any bank account information they will wipe you out! If you recognize a scam take care of yourself and others by reporting them. Simply call 1-800-772-1213 and report it to Social Security.
If you know anyone who may need Social Security disability benefits, please give them my number or send a link to this page to them.
Please remember. I work for you. I am your advocate! If you have concerns, please contact me.
We are “A Voice for the Disabled”
Stay safe,
Randy Adams, ADR
Email: randy@adamsdisability.com
Website: www.AdamsDisability.com
Phone: 888-551-1190
