Scammers switch to Social Security

Watch out, the Social Security scam is looking like the new IRS scam.

Crooks increasingly are impersonating an official from the Social Security Administration, making harassing calls similar to the annoying Internal Revenue Service calls.

The AARP Fraud Watch Network now has had more complaints to its helpline in the past few months from consumers targeted by Social Security impostors than the old IRS scam, according to Amy Nofziger, AARP fraud expert.

It shouldn’t be surprising, especially after some successful crackdowns on the widespread IRS impersonation scam. The IRS impostor scam — which began heating up in late 2013 — enabled scammers to steal more than $73.6 million from 14,958 victims over time through late November 2018, according to the office of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

Make no mistake, scam calls aren’t going away. Nearly half of all calls to mobile phones are expected to be fraudulent in one way or another in 2019, according to First Orion, a provider of phone call and data transparency solutions.

Now, retirees and others need to be aware that fake phone calls could be from someone pretending to be from Social Security, too.

“The scammers are constantly changing their tactics,” Nofziger said. “Perhaps, they’ve just changed their script.”

Scammers are getting ahead for two reasons: technology and tactics.

Crooks have the ability to spoof caller IDs to make it look like you’re being contacted by a legitimate source. In addition, they have access to robocall technology to make millions of calls. They can just keep calling and calling until they get someone to pay up or hand over personal information.

Seniors may face memory problems or feel uncertain about their abilities to handle important things, like taxes or Social Security. Fear plays a big role in many pitches.

In the IRS scam, the impersonators claim to be IRS employees and then demand that someone pay taxes owed via iTunes cards, Google Play or other gift cards. Some of the con artists are based in the United States, but others are in India and elsewhere.

The criminals may threaten arrest, deportation or revoking a driver’s license if they don’t get payment.

Social Security can trigger similar trepidation.

Frankly, it’s hard to imagine any retiree who wouldn’t get rattled by a robocall leaving this message: “We had to suspend your Social Security number for suspicious

Lose benefits? It’s a threat that many feel they cannot afford to ignore. About 63 million Americans received $1 trillion in Social Security benefits in 2018.

Among the elderly receiving benefits, Social Security represents half or more of the monthly income of 48 percent of married couples and 69 percent of unmarried persons.

For some retirees, of course, the Social Security check is the main source of monthly income.

The latest AARP alerts for Michigan include warnings from police about someone going door-to-door offering a “better Medicare plan.” Not surprisingly, the man at the door wanted to see the senior’s old Medicare card, which shows the client’s Social Security Number, according to investigators. The senior was suspicious and asked the man to leave. activity, press one to continue.”