Social Security Scam Afoot

A social security telephone scam is afoot, and the Better Business Bureau warns to be alert to such phone calls. The fake callers are known to make Caller ID show a real Social Security Administration (SSA) number and identification. The Better Business Bureau states the SSA would never telephone to threaten to take away benefits, to seize bank accounts, or to tell listeners to wire money, send cash, or put money on a gift card. “Anyone who tells you to do those things is a scammer. Every time.”

In the tri-county area, the BBB began to receive reports yesterday that calls claiming to come from the Social Security Administration threatened to stop benefits. Of the half-dozen calls reported since then, one went to a Santa Barbara resident and even a BBB staff member received a false phone call, said Rick Copelan, who heads the Tri-Counties BBB.

The callers have threatened to block a person’s social security number and seize bank accounts. Anyone who receives such calls may report it to the BBB Scam Tracker at https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker/us.

Last, the BBB advises to never give a social security number or even part of one over the phone to anyone who calls cold, nor a bank account or credit card number.