Consumer Advice
Related: About this forumLegitimate Fraud Advisory from Social Security Administration 5/17/19
from Inspector General of Social Security Administration about Social Security Advisory Board-Related Scam
Yes, this is real, hit link below to verify.
____________________________________________________________________________
https://oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/news-releases/may17-advisory
Fraud Advisory: Inspector General Warns Public About Social Security Advisory Board-Related Scam
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 17, 2019
The Inspector General of Social Security, Gail S. Ennis, is warning the public about a new variation of increasingly common government employee impersonation scams, this time involving the Social Security Advisory Board. The Advisory Board has reported that individuals are receiving scam phone calls displaying the boards phone number on caller ID. The callers are reportedly attempting to obtain personal information, including Social Security numbers. If you receive this type of call, you should not engage with the caller or provide personal information or money in response to requests or threats.
These callers are employing tactics similar to impersonation schemes involving the IRS, SSA, and the SSA OIG. Inspector General Ennis advises that callers may use a variety of false scenarios or threats to obtain personal information or payments, often requested through gift cards or prepaid debit cards.
However, the Social Security Advisory Board typically does not contact the general public to request personal information over the phone. Moreover, government employees will never threaten you to obtain personal information or payments. In those cases, the call is fraudulent, and you should just hang up.
This caller-ID spoofing scheme has unfortunately evolved to include the Social Security Advisory Board, but it is the same type of scam, attempting to mislead people by using the trusted name of Social Security, Inspector General Ennis said. I encourage everyone to alert your family and friends about how common these scams are, and to be very cautious when speaking with unknown callers, even if you recognize the caller ID.
Inspector General Ennis urges the public not to provide sensitive information over the phone or internet unless you are certain of who is receiving it. You should also never wire money or add money to a prepaid debit card to pay for any official government service.
If you receive a suspicious call, you may report that information online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report or by calling (800) 269-0271, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time. You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a new site specific to Social Security scams: https://identitytheft
SWBTATTReg
(24,255 posts)Stuart G
(38,726 posts)The San Diego Police Department, since the number was from San Diego. Lot's of this going on.
Faux pas
(15,394 posts)If you can't eff with the old, sick and downtrodden, who can you eff with?
Stuart G
(38,726 posts)...In 1969 I did a lesson in a public high school in Chicago, about a con called "bait and switch"..By 76 or 77, I was teaching a class in a different high school in the Chicago public school system on Consumer Education, where we discussed all kinds of frauds.
..I taught Consumer Education in the public schools from 76 to 97. I retired sometime after that, but the point is that these kinds of frauds have been going on for a while, and are still going on and will go on as long as they make money for the con artists. I guess the point is that this is not new, and that these cons work. The people who do them, know they are against the law, and are sure that they can get away with them.
...Just as important, the people that do these don't give a shit about hurting people, it is all about the con artists making money, for themselves and lots of money for doing very little. If the cons did not work, then the crooks would do something else. Proof?...This social security crap has been going on for a while, and is illegal.
But it is still going on. It must be working to make money.
Faux pas
(15,394 posts)whole trump cabal, every effing stinkin' one of them. And our "leaders" sit, watch, enable and dither around while they take down the world. Didn't think I'd live long enough to see this.