Wednesday’s Wisdom:
Recently, an attorney from our office received a robocall at home. The computer generated voice claimed to be “Maria” from the Social Security Office. “Maria” advised the attorney that her social security number had been frozen because of some issues so she had to contact them immediately at the number provided. Luckily, the attorney knew it was a scam and hung up.
During tax season, there always seems to be an uptick in the already ample number of these scam phone calls, and unfortunately, seniors are targeted particularly. Thankfully, the Department of Justice is starting to crack down on these scams: https://www.fool.com/retirement/2020/02/08/the-department-of-justice-is-cracking-down-on-soci.aspx
So how can you spot a scam from the real deal? One thing you should know is that SSA will never call or email you threatening to suspend your benefits. If you get a call asking for you to wire money or pay a fine to prevent that from happening, hang up, and then report it to the office of the Inspector General, Social Security Administration: https://oig.ssa.gov/