I saw this on Facebook yesterday: The Inspector General Warns Public About Caller ID “Spoofing” of the Social Security Fraud Hotline Phone Number
Posted by Andrew Cannarsa, OIG Communications Director
The Inspector General of Social Security, Gail S. Ennis, is warning us about a caller-ID “spoofing” scheme misusing the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of the Inspector General’s (OIG) Fraud Hotline phone number. The OIG has received recent reports of phone calls displaying the Fraud Hotline number on a caller-ID screen. This is a scam; their employees do not place outgoing calls from the Fraud Hotline 800 number. Citizens should not listen to these callers and should not provide personal information. Just hang up!
SSA and OIG employees do contact citizens by telephone for official purposes. The scammer may request you to “confirm” personal information over the phone. However, you might see that those calls do not appear on your Caller ID as the Fraud Hotline number of (800) 269-0271.
Also, SSA and OIG employees will never threaten you for information or threaten any type of official action in exchange for personal information or payment. They can’t cancel your Social Security Number, cut off any benefits or put you in jail. Again, in those cases, the call is fraudulent, and you should just hang up.
Your Social Security Number Can Not Be Suspended or Cancelled With a Phone Call
If you receive a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA or OIG, you can report that information to the OIG online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report or by calling (800) 269-0271, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
You can also report these scams to the Federal Trade Commission through a new site specific to Social Security scams: https://identitytheft.gov/ssa
