Complaints about SSN scams on the rise: report

By: Mickey M.

It’s an SOS situation with SSN scams.

Complaints about Social Security fraudsters increased more than 23-fold during the first six months of this year over the first half of 2018, according to a report by BeenVerified, a company that provides background checks and other services like reverse call lookup.

Spam and robocalls from imposters claiming to be from the Social Security Administration accounted for nearly 10 percent of user complaint comments during the first half of the year, BeenVerified’s recent Spam Call Complaint Monitor found.

Justin Lavelle, the company’s communications director, said the imposters “just want people to engage with them. That’s when they know they’ve got you. Once they get their hooks into you, they really try to take all they can get.”

“Fear is a prime motivator fraudsters use to try and lure victims into revealing identifying details, such as Social Security numbers and other information that could be used for stealing a person’s money or identity,” the report found.

Indeed, such imposter scams are overtaking IRS cons, according to the Federal Trade Commission, which tracks activity in its Consumer Sentinel Network database.

In the 12 months ended in March, people lodged more than 76,000 complaints against Social Security imposters, with reported losses of $19 million.

Imposters tell you your Social Security number has been suspended because of suspicious activity or because it’s been involved in a crime, according to the FTC’s Emma Fletcher.

They ask you to confirm your Social Security number so they can reactivate it, or issue a new one for a fee.

They may say you need to withdraw money from the bank to store it on gift cards or in other unusual ways for “safekeeping.” You may be told your accounts will be seized or frozen if you don’t act quickly, Fletcher said.

Victims told the feds the No. 1 way they lost money was by giving the imposters the PIN on the back of gift cards. No. 2: They withdrew cash from their bank and fed it into the scammers’ bitcoin ATMs.

Lavelle’s advice: “Keep in mind this basic principle: No government agency will call and leave a threatening voice mail.”

And don’t think these swindles are aimed only at the elderly. “This scam is targeting all Americans, regardless of age,” said Amy Nofziger, who manages AARP’s Fraud Watch Network helpline.

“It is close to impossible to recover the money once someone falls for this scam,” she added. “That’s why education and being aware of the red flags are so important.”