by Tracy Lynge, Communications Director for the Office of the Inspector General

Social Security phone scams are the number one type of fraud reported to the Federal Trade Commission.  Callers claim that you have a problem with your Social Security number or benefits and demand immediate payment from you to avoid arrest or other legal action.

We recently announced two landmark civil complaints, filed by the Department of Justice in the Eastern District of New York, seeking injunctions against five telecommunications companies and their owners.  The complaints allege the companies and their owners have, for years, knowingly facilitated government imposter telephone scams.  The Department of Justice issued a news release about the filing and request for court orders, and held a press call with U.S. Attorney Richard Donaghue, Inspector General Gail S. Ennis, and Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale.

If granted, the court orders will prevent the five enjoined companies from continuing to allow “the delivery of millions of fraudulent ‘robocalls’ every day from foreign call centers to the U.S. telecommunications system.”

You can read the entire press release at oig.ssa.gov/newsroom/news-releases/inspector-general-announces-civil-action-prevent-social-security-scam-calls

If you receive a call or email about a problem with your Social Security number or account that you believe to be suspicious, hang up or do not respond.  We encourage you to report Social Security phone scams using our dedicated online form at https://oig.ssa.gov.  Please share this information with your friends and family to help them learn how to protect themselves from phone scams.  For more information, please visit https://oig.ssa.gov/scam.