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If I wanted to get your full name, date of birth, address, names of your children, and every phone number you have, it would take me all of one minute to find it. It’s that easy.
But the most valuable piece of information, fortunately, isn’t so easy to get, and that’s your Social Security number (SSN). If a crook gets that, then you could easily become the victim of identity theft.
Too many Americans learn this the hard way. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, some 51,600 people were defrauded of some $278 million in 2021. Meanwhile, there were more than 1,800 reported data breaches in 2022, two-thirds of which included the theft of SSNs, impacting roughly 422 million individual records, according to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Mo).
But these numbers could be even higher, says Mary Johnson, Social Security and Medicare policy analyst for The Senior Citizens League, who tells MarketWatch “there’s an out of control epidemic of Social Security identity theft scams.”
Read: The Social Security COLA for 2024 could be 2.7%, down from 8.7%
Congress is upping its efforts to fight the bad guys—I’ll get to that in a second—but frankly the best way to keep your personal info secure is for you to remain vigilant against these common Social Security scams:
- Fake phone calls. The REAL toll-free number for the Social Security Administration is 1-800-772-1213. Screen your calls carefully. Crooks often use so-called “spoofing” techniques to make that number, or a similar-looking one, show up on your phone. A person, or even a robotic-like voice, might ask you to “verify” your SSN or demand money for “administrative” or “processing” reasons.
“Do not feel any obligation to even answer the phone,” Johnson advises. “Let your phone answering or message system screen your calls. The Social Security Administration does not call you. Whoever is calling and claiming this deserves to be hung up on. When I inadvertently answer such a call, my personal favorite answer is — ‘Hello, Social Security Fraud SWAT team.’ So far not one single person ever stayed on the line.”
If you have any Social Security-related issue, call the above number yourself. Incidentally, wait times to speak to a real representative are usually shortest early in the day (between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. local time) or later in the afternoon (between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. local time). Wednesdays through Fridays, and later in the month are also less busy.
Read: Artificial intelligence is coming for seniors: AI’s dark side targets older adults in scams
Other Social Security scams:
- Fake text messages. Criminals may send a text claiming to be from Social Security and ask you to call a certain number, or click on a link. Don’t. The SSA emphasizes the following: “Social Security will never send a text asking for a return call to an unknown number. Social Security will only send text messages if you have opted in to receive texts from the agency and only in limited situations.”
- Fake emails and “phishing.” Let’s say you get an email from the Social Security Administration. Did you really? Crooks are so skilled these days that they can build websites that look like the real thing. Don’t click on any attachment. Don’t respond to the email. It could be an attempt to get your money, or your Social Security number.
- Fake letters. You know the big Social Security cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) you got in January this year? Each year, crooks reel in a few unsuspecting folks by sending out letters—which look like genuine correspondence—asking them to “verify” their information in order to get the money. COLA increases are automatic and require no action on your part. In the event you do get a letter from Social Security, remember this: It will never ask you for personal information.
You get the idea. Beware of phone calls, emails, texts. Don’t engage. If you have any issues with Social Security, be proactive; again the best advice here is to call the SSA yourself.
Meanwhile, two pieces of legislation designed to better protect citizens are moving through Congress. One, the so-called “Improving Social Security’s Service to Victims of Identity Theft Act,” cleared the House Ways and Means Committee last week. Introduced last week by Georgia Republican Drew Ferguson, and Connecticut Democrat John Larson, it aims to streamline the way in which citizens can contact the SSA concerning security issues such as identity theft.
The second bill, the “Social Security Child Protection Act of 2023,” has also cleared the Committee. Introduced by Ohio Republican Brad Wenstrup and Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer, it aims to protect children (and seniors) who have had their identities compromised by allowing the rapid issuance of brand-new Social Security numbers. This is seen as an improvement on the current Social Security policy, which forces citizens to prove that their SSN has been misused by a third party, and that actual harm has been caused by it.
The Senior Citizens League’s Johnson welcomes these efforts, but thinks they don’t go far enough. What’s needed, she says, is clear language “defining Social Security identity theft as a federal crime and stronger penalties and punishments,” and funding “tougher antifraud enforcement, including taking down the infernal robocall scammers.”
