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Earlier this month, we told you about a growing scam: people pretend to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and try to get your Social Security number or your money. That scam is now growing exponentially. To compare: in 2017, we heard from 3,200 people about SSA imposter scams, and those people reported losing nearly $210,000. So far THIS year: more than 35,000 people have reported the scam, and they tell us they’ve lost $10 million.

Here’s what one of those scam calls sound like:

Scammers are saying your Social Security number (SSN) has been suspended because of suspicious activity, or because it’s been involved in a crime. Sometimes, the scammer wants you to confirm your SSN to reactivate it. Sometimes, he’ll say your bank account is about to be seized – but he’ll tell you what to do to keep it safe. (Often, that involves putting your money on gift cards and giving him the codes – which, of course, means that your money is gone.)

Oh, and your caller ID often shows the real SSA phone number (1-800-772-1213) when these scammers call – but they’re faking that number. It’s not the real SSA calling.

Here's what to know:

  • Your Social Security number is not about to be suspended. You don’t have to verify your number to anyone who calls out of the blue. And your bank accounts are not about to be seized.
  • SSA will never call to threaten your benefits or tell you to wire money, send cash, or put money on gift cards. Anyone who tells you to do those things is a scammer. Every time.
  • The real SSA number is 1-800-772-1213, but scammers are putting that number in the caller ID. If you’re worried about what the caller says, hang up and call 1-800-772-1213 to speak to the real SSA. Even if the wait time is long, confirm with the real SSA before responding to one of these calls.
  • Never give any part of your Social Security number to anyone who contacts you. Or your bank account or credit card number.

If you get one of these calls, tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

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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.

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krazee kevin
July 10, 2019
I got a couple of those phone calls today.The first number was 1-915-228-3791,I thought at first that it was legitimate,but got to thinking no I don't think so. then a short time later I got another call saying they would contact the FBI,that sounded false so I hung up on them. That number was 1-800-710-7859.
Upset senior
July 10, 2019
July 9, 2019 I received a call saying this is Officer RYan Smith and Proceeded to tell me my account with Social Security has been jeopardized by illegal activity and to call him immediately. The contact numbered he gave was 424-281-0251 The phone number was
Daniel R
July 10, 2019
Call from 254-267-4803 The legal enforcement actions filed on your Social Security number for fraudulent activities so when you get this message kindly call back at the earliest possible on our number before we begin with the legal proceedings that is 254-267-4803 I repeat 254-267-4803 thank you…”
yellowcoast
July 10, 2019
Get them everyday...from local numbers, long distance, unknown and one today says "no caller id". they don't ever say anything, so I started blocking them completely and don't answer. The silence makes me think they are trying to hack my phone...let's face it telephones are essentially computers .
craigd53
July 10, 2019
6 scam calls in one week. Just don’t hit the number 1 key they ask you to do.
Selahharmon94
July 10, 2019
I got phone call from about 30 minutes ago from scam scalls. Claiming its from social security threating saying bbenefits have been suspended I realize it was scam calls wanting information or money
MLitton
July 10, 2019
Got a call today. It was a robocall that said to call 512-861-2354 and said there was an "enforcement action against my ssn".
Leon
July 10, 2019
Got one of these from "1 (854) 278-129" today. (Yes, it looks like it's missing a digit.)
Scammers stop …
July 10, 2019
‭+250 559129223‬ Got a call from Rwanda! Crazy
Won't Catch Me
July 10, 2019
844-797-8217 844-906-0494 844-482-6883 All above have called within the last 4 hours - all same voicemails saying my SSN has been suspended - whatever!
JUST EXPERIENC…
July 10, 2019
THANKFULLY I LET 646 462 452SEVEN GO TO VOICEMAIL
Taken4
July 10, 2019
I got same type of call from 410-213-3366 and was asked to call the same number back. The man with an accent said he was from the social security administration office and proceeded to threaten me with prison sentences for drug trafficking and money laundering. I laughed so hard and asked him if he even knows who he’s talking to. Then he said a bunch of info about me that anyone can get off of google. I told him “I have a particular set of skills and I will find you” lol then hung up on him.
E-10
July 10, 2019
I received a robo-call from the SSI impostors today, Same broken awkward speech patterns. The number they called from today was 1-646-461-3225 , stay safe people and never give out your info.
Ralph
July 10, 2019
These guys are going nuts today they must have left the same message on my wifes cell phone 10 times.
Concerned Victim
July 10, 2019
This happened to me. Scammer number (325) 261-6925
josieb
July 10, 2019
Got a voicemail from this number 242995590 stating suspicious activity and my SS will be suspended .
Marci
July 10, 2019
Got several of these calls today but number is 866-692-1048
chikky24
July 11, 2019
i got a voicemail from this number 877 271 6275 regarding my last 4 digits of my social security number to vefiry? i'm very worried what he said about my SSN. please help me to find out of this thing. thank you!
SharonS
July 11, 2019
Thank you for this information. It is scary to receive these calls. This was very helpful
TKKW
July 11, 2019
Received call from +101188181647, did not answer. They left voicemail saying my SSA # was suspended...etc. Am on the do not call registry.
sickofscamcallers123
July 11, 2019
I got a message saying my ss # was suspended from 332-870-6894. Recording of a man's voice saying there was suspicious activity.
Tom
July 11, 2019
7-11-19. The number I received a call from was 409-200-2687, the vmail left was similar but same about suspending SS #. Yeah I'll call you back...right!
Mride
July 11, 2019
(254) 267-4810 this is the number i received a call from today. 7-11-2019.
Dharmaraj
July 11, 2019
I got a call from 1-833-055-8950. Same exact message as a voicemail.
Pat Hurley
July 11, 2019
Just got my second scam call within one hour from this number ‭+1 (866) 299-2238‬, with the same “we have suspended your social security number”
Business
July 11, 2019
SOCIAL SECURITY has left you a voicemail message. Hi Voicemail message attached. From: SOCIAL SECURITY, +1 888-748-7696 Received: July 11, 2019 at 1:12 PM "Looted by the U.S. Treasury against your social security number ignoring this would be an intentional are camped to avoid initial appearances before the magistrate judge or exempt jury or 8 federal criminal offense so before this matter goes through Federal Claims court house where you get arrested kindly press one and speak to an officer now." The Webex team Need help? Contact us. This is the message the scammers left, If you answer the call once they keep calling back.
HF
July 11, 2019
I received a phone call with a message that my SSN was about to be suspended and that I would loose all of my benefits. Message also said that I needed to contact them immediately, that if they did not have a response within 30 days I would loose my SSN . The number they used is 800-570-7111.
JOSE NAVARRO
July 11, 2019
Here is another SCAM Number 1 800 129 7494
Jabc
July 11, 2019
My autistic sister lives in queens. She received a call from a 347. Area code. Which is the same area code as her cell phone. The caller asked her to confirm the last 4 digits of her ss number. Asked her if she was traveling to Florida or Colorado in the future. My sister got so nervous she was crying. she finally told her she needs to talk to her family and the woman gave her the 347 phone number that came up on her phone. We tried to call the number back but it goes to voicemail, then mailbox is full. Today she received another call from a different 347 number. The same thing What the? Will the ss office really phone you?
ssd_scam
July 11, 2019
Got several calls from 347-380-7297 stating they were from Social Security Office and that I will be arrested and millions of dollars and drugs were being trafficked is the reason my SSD will be suspended. Before I allowed them to give me options, I told them as they were recording, I too was recording and if I can get their name to validate this claim while I'm here at Social security office. They fail to give me a name and hung up, but before I realize I was being scammed, I gave them both my social security number and my date of birth they sound legitimate is the reason why I gave them this information social security has called in the past and asked for this information beware during the initial call they sound very convincing. The biggest question I really have is how did they know I was on Social Security how did they get my phone number and also how did they get my last 4 digits of social?
Friendly Advisor
October 13, 2020

In reply to by ssd_scam

NEVER GIVE ANY INFORMATION such as: part or all of your Social Security number, your name, date of birth, address, PIN codes, your bank account number or credit card number. NEVER DO ANYTHING THEY ASK such as: press a number on the phone, call a number they give you, return their call, never send or wire money, and never put money on a gift card. SIMPLY HANG UP THE PHONE. If you are worried that it really was the SSA, call their official phone number: 1-800-772-1213 to confirm. If you receive a suspicious call, make a note of the phone number and tell the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.
b sullivan
July 11, 2019
just got the same kind of call but they used the number 201 639 2409
Zodiac54
July 11, 2019
So I just got a phone call from what I guess is a scam SSA number telling me my SSN was suspended due to suspicious activities I’m going to be honest I’m fresh out of highschool looking for a job and i have a lot of questions about this I’m worried and I just need confirmation that this is nothing to worry about please help?
Hello1234
September 04, 2019

In reply to by Zodiac54

I used to work for SSA and I can tell you that they will NEVER call you to say that your number has been used for anything. If anybody ever calls you regarding your SSN, do not tell them anything. If you have any suspicions call the SSA back and talk to them. They will be happy to help.
sds
July 11, 2019
beware of 480 787 2320
Dena
July 11, 2019
Just received a call from ssa stating a serious investigation against my social involving dea and drug enforcement to call immediately....BS!!!
domi_go_14honda
July 22, 2019
they call me yesterday they askme for 5 Gif Card 500 $ they say mi social secury was cancel
Chuck
July 11, 2019
I got the same call today. I was bored, so I just kept calling the number back and wasting their time. I gave them made up birth dates and socials. They did have my name and kept trying to verify the birthdates and socials, which of course wouldn't. (Not sure what they are using to verify). I'm pretty sure they won't call me any more. The "Publisher's Clearing House" guy stopped after I wasted an hour and 45 minutes of his time.
Nicki and Dave
July 11, 2019
We just received a call from 254-822-4938 claiming they are Canada Revenue and asking all kinds of personal questions.
Icountm
July 11, 2019
How do you STOP these calls...I've been contacted 17 times already today !
mss
July 11, 2019
I got a robo call message that I am supposed to call 220-742-9479 "before we proceed with the legal procedure ". Some of the first part of the message was cut off because the robot started speaking too soon. A search of the number brought me here (and to other sites that confirm it is not legitimate).
Thomas
July 11, 2019
I have been getting these calls recently and they are clearly fake. A person with a thick Indian accent who claims to be working for US gov come on. I do like to answer and waste their time with fake information. I had someone Call and tell me that someone had used my ssn to open up 25 bank accounts and I told the caller that it was me and those are all my bank accounts. Confused the day lights out of him.
Redfish01
July 11, 2019
We just one of these. Seriously, if the NSA records every call shouldn’t they be able to look at the inbound calls and determine where they originated? Even if they can’t locate the individual they should be able to trace the country, then our tax funded government can sanction the country until they stop this behavior!
California
July 11, 2019
I've received many call from officer Ryan Smith of the Dept of Social Security saying there criminal activity on my social security number to call back at 424-281-0251 before he process with legal action.
Ruthyruth
July 11, 2019
Just received a call 2x today and using this number ‭+1 (510) 112-7272‬
Scared to answ…
July 12, 2019
These scammers are getting so bad, I don’t answer numbers that I don’t know.... this is no way to live
TK421
July 12, 2019
Add 888 019-715 to the list of numbers.
Bigfoot the Bear
July 12, 2019
It seems they have progressed to UK scams on the name of British Telecom telling us that our broadband connection has been hacked
Minka
September 16, 2019

In reply to by Bigfoot the Bear

I've been getting calls from 131, which is Edinburgh Scotland. No message just calls all day.