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YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY | Rock Island, Illinois Office

By Cristina Vital
Social Security Manager
Rock Island Social Security Office

HOW WE PROTECT YOU FROM MISLEADING ADVERTISING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Social Security works with the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) to protect you from scams that use Social Security as bait.  Section 1140 of the Social Security Act allows OIG to impose severe penalties against anyone who engages in misleading Social Security-related advertising or imposter communications.  You can review Section 1140 at www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title11/1140.htm.

For example, the OIG may impose a penalty against anyone who:

• Mails misleading solicitations that appear to be from or authorized by Social Security.
• Operates an imposter internet website or social media account designed to look like it belongs to or is authorized by Social Security.
• Sends emails or text messages or makes telephone calls claiming to be from Social Security.
• Sells Social Security’s free forms, applications, and publications without our written approval.
• Charges a fee for a service that Social Security provides free of charge without providing a clearly visible notice that Social Security provides the service for free.

If you receive a misleading or suspicious Social Security-related advertisement or imposter communication, please let us know immediately. Try to capture as much information about the communication as you can.

Here’s what you can do:

• For suspicious websites or social media accounts, please take a screenshot of the page. Please note the website address or social media link – and how you came across it.
• For emails and text messages, please capture the entire message and any message links.
• For U.S. mail solicitations, please retain the complete communication, including the outside envelope and all inserts.
• For telephone solicitations, please note the caller identification phone number and any company name or call back number that the caller or recorded message provides.

You can help us stop misleading advertising and communications. We encourage you to report potential scams to the OIG at oig.ssa.gov.  You can also call our fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271 or send an email to OIG.1140@ssa.gov.

This information will help OIG locate the source of the suspicious solicitation or communication. You can also check out our publication, What You Need to Know About Misleading Advertising, at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10005.pdf.

Please share this information with friends and family and help us spread the word on social media!

PLAN FOR YOUR FUTURE DURING FINANCIAL LITERACY MONTH

April is Financial Literacy Month. Social Security is a vital part of any financial plan. Our online tools can help you understand your potential Social Security benefits and how they fit into your financial future.

You should periodically review your Social Security Statement (Statement) using your personal my Social Security account at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.  Your Statement is an easy-to-read summary of the estimated benefits you and your family could receive, including potential retirement, disability, and survivors’ benefits.

Our Plan for Retirement tool in your personal my Social Security account allows you to check various benefit estimate scenarios. You can compare how different future earnings and retirement benefit start-dates might affect your future benefit amount.

Please tell your friends and family about the steps they can take to improve their financial knowledge by exploring their personal my Social Security account. If they don’t have an account, they can easily create one at www.ssa.gov/myaccount.

STAY INFORMED WITH SOCIAL SECURITY’S TOP FIVE SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES

We strive to provide the public with accurate and helpful information. In addition to the resources available on our website at www.ssa.gov, we also regularly post useful information on our blog and on social media. We invite you to read our posts and share items of interest with family and friends.

1. You can subscribe to our blog.  We post articles about programs, policies, current topics, and new online services.  Read more and subscribe at blog.ssa.gov.
2. You can follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/socialsecurity. You can also share Facebook posts with family and friends.
3. We have many informative videos on YouTube. Our videos cover online services, applying for retirement and disability benefits, Social Security-related scams, and much more.  We also offer some of our videos in Spanish.  You can view and easily share our videos at www.youtube.com/SocialSecurity.
4. You can join our many Twitter followers at www.twitter.com/socialsecurity.  We use Twitter to announce new my Social Security features and other
   service or program changes.
5. We’re also on Instagram.  We share stories and resources that can help you and your loved ones. Check out our Instagram page at www.instagram.com/SocialSecurity.

Connect with us on social media to learn helpful information.  Follow along and share our pages with a friend, neighbor, or loved one today.  Check out all our social media channels at www.ssa.gov/socialmedia.