The Acting Inspector General of Social Security is warning citizens about ongoing Social Security Administration (SSA) impersonation schemes. SSA and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) have recently received several reports of suspicious phone calls from fraudsters claiming to be from SSA.

Recently reported cases to be aware of:

• An automated recording states your Social Security Number (SSN) has been suspended for suspicion of illegal activity and you should contact the provided phone number immediately to resolve the issue. The call concludes by stating if you do not contact the provided phone number, your assets will be frozen until the alleged issue is resolved.
• A caller claims to be from SSA headquarters and waits for the person to provide personal information, such as an SSN, address, date of birth.

SSA employees do occasionally contact citizens by telephone for customer-service purposes. In only a few limited special situations an SSA employee may request the citizen confirm personal information over the phone, and in these cases the citizen already expects to receive the call.

If you receive a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA, report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report .

Acting Inspector General Stone continues to warn citizens to be cautious and to avoid providing information such as your SSN or bank account numbers to unknown persons over the phone or via internet unless you are certain of who is receiving the information. “Be aware of suspicious calls from unknown sources, and when in doubt, contact the official entity to verify the legitimacy of the call,” Stone said.

Questions about any communication – email, letter, text or phone call – that claims to be from SSA or the OIG, can be directed to your local Social Security office, or call Social Security’s toll-free customer service number at 1-800-772-1213, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, to verify its legitimacy. (Those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing can call Social Security’s TTY number at 1-800-325-0778.)

Obtain contact information for your local Social Security office by speaking with a Sourcewise Community Resource Specialist: (408) 350-3200, option 1.