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A caller says that he’s from the government and your Social Security number (SSN) has been suspended. He sounds very professional. So you should do exactly what he says to fix things…right?

Wrong.

The FTC has gotten reports about scammers trying to trick people out of their personal information by telling them that they need to “reactivate” their supposedly “suspended” SSNs. The scammers say the SSN was suspended because of some connection to fraud or other criminal activity. They say to call a number to clear it up – where they’ll ask you for personal information.

Thing is, Social Security numbers do not get suspended. This is just a variation of a government imposter scam that’s after your SSN, bank account number, or other personal information. In this variation of the scheme, the caller pretends to be protecting you from a scam while he’s trying to lure you into one.

Here are a few tips to protect yourself:

  • Never give out or confirm personal information over the phone, via email or on a website until you’ve checked out whoever is asking you for it.
  • Do not trust a name, phone number, or email address just because it seems to be connected with the government. Con artists use official-sounding names and may fake caller ID or email address information to make you trust them. Besides, the government normally contacts people by postal mail.
  • Contact government agencies directly, using telephone numbers and website addresses you know to be legitimate.

If someone has tried to steal your personal information by pretending to be from the government, report it to the FTC.

 

Search Terms
scam
Topics
Credit, Loans, and Debt
Scams
Government Impersonators
Social Security Impersonators

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

  • We won’t post off-topic comments, repeated identical comments, or comments that include sales pitches or promotions.
  • We won’t post comments that include vulgar messages, personal attacks by name, or offensive terms that target specific people or groups.
  • We won’t post threats, defamatory statements, or suggestions or encouragement of illegal activity.
  • We won’t post comments that include personal information, like Social Security numbers, account numbers, home addresses, and email addresses. To file a detailed report about a scam, go to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

We don't edit comments to remove objectionable content, so please ensure that your comment contains none of the above. The comments posted on this blog become part of the public domain. To protect your privacy and the privacy of other people, please do not include personal information. Opinions in comments that appear in this blog belong to the individuals who expressed them. They do not belong to or represent views of the Federal Trade Commission.

Don't use your…
September 14, 2018
I do not under stand when a government place keeps asking for your complete number for your account and it is on the bank statement already.?
ShariYS
September 15, 2018

In reply to by Don't use your…

WHAT "government place"? The bank? The Social Security office? Some clown on the phone saying they're from the government? If YOU called the bank and they want your account#, give it to them. But don't give anything out to anyone who calls you first!
cas
September 17, 2018

In reply to by ShariYS

even if the so called bank asks you for your account number, don't even give it to them over the phone. Just go into your branch office and ask the manager on why the bank wants your account number. I'm sure he will tell you that you do not give it out to anyone unless you personally know they are the real thing, which means you go to the bank and verify the need to get this information.
carolyn189
January 10, 2019

In reply to by ShariYS

I just got a call. I stereotypically said "for someone who works for the US government you do not sound like you are in the US at all..." He then asked where I thought he was located which is totally weird for a govt employee to do. I said "If you work for the Social Security Offices then you should not be playing with me and be willing to tell me where you are located." He said he was in (what sounded like) Sweden! So bizarre. After I asked him multiple times to say the location again because I could not understand him through his accent and eventually asked him to SPEEL IT OUT, he hung up. I googled "who to call to report social security card scam and both phone numbers listed on the SSA site were for benefit thefts and benefit fraud only. No help from the SSA.
Kirk
February 20, 2019

In reply to by carolyn189

18664048955 over social security saying my social security number has been suspended scam who else has got call from this number
Dojilllyon33n'…
March 21, 2019

In reply to by Katz8990

I did too. This sucks! 1 866-404-1811
Nikki217
March 25, 2019

In reply to by Dojilllyon33n'…

I got a robo call today stating they were suspending my ssn due to fraudulent activity. The number was 1-866-404-1936. I have blocked it.
MerlinSP
March 27, 2019

In reply to by UGH!

I received a call with the bot stating that my SSN was suspended due to suspicious activity. The number was the following (332)8763478. I had to look up the area code. It's NYC apparently. Manhattan to be exact. I've lived in the NYC all of my life and never say or knew anyone with that area code. I just hung up after the bot finished the first sentence. Any sentence that includes nonsense like a SSN being suspended is BS. I'm more worried about how they obtained my number!
Feelingupset
April 18, 2019

In reply to by MerlinSP

I just listened to a voicemail i received an automated msg saying my SSN has been suspended due to suspicious activity. Its to early to call these scammers but yeah hoa the heck do they have my number??? SMH
Crys
May 02, 2019

In reply to by Feelingupset

I have received the same SSN Suspended calls from the below numbers the past 7 days: 1-325-340-1215 1-800-974-5248 1-855-896-4235
Mrs Claus
May 09, 2019

In reply to by Crys

Mine was from +1(575)070-3055 Word for word! “Press 1 to continue”. How do we keep these awful people from calling? Total scumbags!
Ian McRobb
May 28, 2019

In reply to by Mrs Claus

Turn on your answering machine and never turn it off. When the voice say leave a message they hangup.
Garden girl
August 02, 2019

In reply to by C'mon

Texas call 1-512-668-9717 2× so far
RaydaMuva
September 17, 2019

In reply to by Pjfontenot81

‭+1 (844) 579-6149‬ Is the number I got the call from. It asked me to press one then immediately hung up. When I called the number back it said the number was out of service’
Cristy
September 20, 2019

In reply to by RaydaMuva

I already had 2 calls this morning, said my ssn number was being suspended and that there is an arrest warrant out for me.
Don't use your…
October 01, 2019

In reply to by Jpetrid

Me too so I tried to turn myself in to the locals and was told to go away, good naturedly
Dogmom2020
October 03, 2019

In reply to by Cristy

Same here. Two calls this morning from with a message to press 1 to speak to an agent. When I did that and they asked for my name, I asked a foreign sounding man how do I know this is not a scam and he hung up on me. (430) 484-6562 (430)653-6493
mari
July 18, 2019

In reply to by MMC

the same, the one I got was 1 915 209 5918 goggled area and it's from Flint, TX. called the number back from a landline and justs rings busy.
anthony
September 03, 2019

In reply to by Rich

just got the same kind of call.. from 800-573-9311
Josh
September 23, 2019

In reply to by Crys

I just got a call from someone saying my SSN is being suspended (how unfortunate). Number was 844-337-2767 These people really aren't getting any better at these things lol
Need money now/2020
September 16, 2020

In reply to by Josh

I got a voicemail with the same exact message perbetum from (646) 710-7655 was stressing out all day until I looked it up on IRS website n found out what it actually is . They need to stopped.
ML
January 03, 2020

In reply to by Crys

I've received 6 of these calls in the last 2 days. It doesn't matter what number shows when they call, all these numbers are "spoofed", meaning the number that appears is not the real source of the call.
SuspiciousMind
May 21, 2019

In reply to by Feelingupset

I got a call today from (781) 328-3741 saying "my SSN has been suspended due to suspicious activity" and to press "1" to learn more about this case. I just remained silent until they hung and then found this page.
Anthony
June 07, 2019

In reply to by SuspiciousMind

I got a call from @347-349-4617. Automated voice, SSN scammer.
E
June 08, 2019

In reply to by SuspiciousMind

I also got a call today (6/8/19) from (917) 338-1359, the recording saying "my SSN has been suspended due to suspicious activity" and to press "1" to learn more about this case.
kanekila
June 10, 2019

In reply to by E

I got a call today on my iPhone from 920-876-6143 (Elkhart Lake, WI). I live in Florida. They said the same as other have reported: "We will block your Social Security number, unless you call us back at this number... blah blah..." Total scam.
Jlyn
August 13, 2019

In reply to by kanekila

Same, same, SAME!! Same autobot message 3 times today.. I did not call back obviously, but I mean, logically thinking, I have never heard of anybody being able to BLOCK a social security number! It's almost humorous! Call back and they will need to ask what the number is so they can proceed with the scam.. I mean, they are calling us, shouldn"t they have it already?? sheesh.. All three of these called, same robot message.. 1-800-991-3553 1-800-006-6627 1-800-531-2835
Dave
September 17, 2019

In reply to by Jlyn

They called me three times today.1-8005295343. 1-8007895266. 1-8007544852. I have no idea how they get my number. This sucks.
pomona ca
August 07, 2020

In reply to by Dave

(714)860-4106 and also block (714)860-7747 (714)860-4883 (609)916-2986 they are scammers i hope. thia covid19 plus im disabled and now these pranksters. horrible .
Dan the motor man
September 16, 2020

In reply to by pomona ca

Yeah I got an automated message saying “Your case file number is W12RW7214 this is to inform you that we have found suspicious activities leading towards drug trafficking and hence we are suspending your Social Security number this would be a final attempt to reach out to you as there is an arrest warrant issued under your name to talk to an officer press one now and hold the line for a few seconds…” and when I tried calling the number back it’s always busy then it hangs up on me.
jeanmcgeehon
June 12, 2019

In reply to by E

I got a call from ssn 2 times today. The caller saying"my ssn has been suspended due to suspicious activity press 1 and to learn more about this case...
JL
June 28, 2019

In reply to by jeanmcgeehon

I just recieved the same call...bot voice with the same message. I hung up as soon as it said to press 1. It came in as a "Restricted" number. I probably shouldn't have answered it.
Srogers
August 21, 2019

In reply to by jeanmcgeehon

Add 707-787-2824 to this list. Same call, same "press 1 to hear this case" scam message
Stop Calling
June 13, 2019

In reply to by E

Same SSN call here - Got a bot call from New York . . 917-745-1507
Grrr
June 14, 2019

In reply to by Stop Calling

Got 3 calls. All left same message about SSN being suspended. Numbers: 1-510-112-7166 -7155 -7161
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