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YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY | Rock Island, Illinois Office

By Cristina Vital
Social Security Manager
Rock Island Social Security Office

SLAM THE SCAM: HOW TO SPOT GOVERNMENT IMPOSTERS

Do you know how to spot a government imposter scam?  We continue to raise public awareness about Social Security-related and other government imposter scams during the fifth annual “Slam the Scam” Day on March 7, 2024.  Knowing how to identify potential scammers will help safeguard your personal information.

There are common elements to many scams. Scammers often take advantage of fears and threaten you with arrest or legal action. Scammers also pretend to be Social Security or other government employees and claim there’s a problem with your Social Security number (SSN) or your benefits.  They may even claim your SSN is linked to a crime.

When you suspect you’ve been contacted by a scammer:

• Hang up right away or ignore the message.
• Never provide personal information, money, or gift cards.
• Report the scam immediately to our Office of the Inspector General (OIG) at oig.ssa.gov/scam-awareness/report-the-scam.

If you owe money to Social Security, we’ll mail you a letter with payment options and appeal information. We only accept payments electronically through Pay.gov, Online Bill Pay, or by check or money order.

We will never:

• Threaten you with arrest or legal action because you don’t agree to pay us money immediately.
• Promise a benefit increase in exchange for money.
• Ask you to send us gift cards, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers, internet currency, cryptocurrency, or cash through the U.S. mail.

Scammers continue to evolve and find new ways to steal your money and personal information. Please stay vigilant and help raise awareness about Social Security-related and other government imposter scams. For more information, please visit www.ssa.gov/scam.

Tell your friends and family about government imposter scams. Let them know they don’t have to be embarrassed to report if they shared personal financial information or suffered a financial loss. The important thing is to report the scam right away.

Together, we can “Slam the Scam!”

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.

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 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 suspicious Social Security-related advertisement or imposter communication, please let us know immediately.  We encourage you to report potential scams to the OIG at oig.ssa.gov. You can also send an email to OIG.1140@ssa.gov.

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

This information will help OIG locate the source of the suspicious communication. You can review Section 1140 at www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/ssact/title11/1140.htm.  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!