Social Security phone scam

The U.S. Social Security Administration is warning of fraudulent telephone calls from individuals claiming to represent the Social Security Administration.

A press release from Dawn Bystry, Acting Deputy Associate Commissioner for the Office of Strategic and Digital Communications at the SSA, warns individuals against the scam phone calls.

Unknown callers have been reported using threatening language to warn unknowing victims that they will be arrested or face other legal action if they fail to call a provided phone number or press the number indicated in the message to address the issue, according to the release.

In some instances, the unknown callers switch tactics and communicate that they want to help an individual with activating a suspended Social Security number. Such calls are a scam, and are not coming from official SSA representatives.

Bystry encourages individuals to not engage with such callers, and to report any suspicious calls to Social Security’s Office of the Inspector General at 1-800-269-0271 or submitting a report on the OIG website at oig.ssa.gov/report. More information on the nature of these fraudulent calls, as well as instructions on how to report such activity, can be found at blog.ssa.gov.