March 9, 2023 is National Slam the Scam Day! The Social Security Administration (SSA) is launching this day to help spread awareness and empowerment to stop Social Security-related scams. Below are some tips from SSA on how to spot and avoid such scams.
Recognize the four basic signs of a scam:
- Scammers pretend to be from a familiar organization or agency, like the Social Security Administration. They may email attachments with official-looking logos, seals, signatures, or pictures of employee credentials.
- Scammers mention a problem or a prize. They may say your Social Security number was involved in a crime or ask for personal information to process a benefit increase.
- Scammers pressure you to act immediately. They may threaten you with arrest or legal action.
- Scammers tell you to pay using a gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire or money transfer, or by mailing cash. They may also tell you to transfer your money to a “safe” account.Ignore scammers and report criminal behavior.
Report Social Security-related scams to the SSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
For Medicare-related scams, report them to our California Senior Medicare Patrol at 1-855-613-7080.
