"YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED..."

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

“You have received this phone call from our department to inform you that we just suspended your Social Security number because we found some suspicious activity,” an automated voice said on one of a dozen calls some people get every day, increasingly now in South Texas.

Then, the caller asks you to press the number one on your phone to speak to a representative.

When you do, and you ask who they are, they will identify themselves as a representative of the Social Security Advisory Board and blurt out  a name and identification number before asking you to confirm a social security number or other confidential information. Local recipients of these calls say that the speaker on the other end has what sounds like an accent from India. In some cases, the phone ID actually lists the 800 number of the board.

Don't fall for it.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says from January through May, there were 200,000 complaints about government agency scams, things like the IRS or jury duty scams. But the largest number of complaints - 65,000, - were scams involving social security.

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 Social Security Advisory Board . It has reported that individuals are receiving scam phone calls displaying the board’s 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, they say.

The OIG says these callers are employing tactics similar to impersonation schemes involving the IRS, SSA, and the SSA OIG. 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.”

When some callers receiving these calls hung up and dialed the number, they were told they qualified for a Lifeline device that would cost them nothing and that could be obtained by providing them with confidential information like birth date, Social Security number or bank account information.