By Roy Urrico
Headline news focusing on the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers camouflage for scammers seeking to dupe the public. The SSA and the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) both issuing warnings about ongoing payment scams involving the two government agencies.
To coincide with “Slam the Scam Day,” Finopotamus reports on these two threats. Note: “Slam the Scam Day” is Thursday, March 6, 2025, as part of National Consumer Protection Week, taking place this year March 2-8.
SSA Issues Alert
“On National Slam the Scam Day, and throughout the year, we give you the tools to recognize Social Security-related scams and stop scammers from stealing your money and personal information,” asserted the SSA in a message to recipients. It wrote, “Scammers might call, email, text, write, or message you on social media claiming to be from the Social Security Administration or the Office of the Inspector General. They might use the name of a person who really works there and might send a picture or attachment as ‘proof.’”
The SSA noted, “You can trust that Social Security will never”:
Threaten you with arrest or legal action because you do not agree to pay money immediately.
Suspend your Social Security number.
Claim to need personal information or payment to activate a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) or other benefit increase.
Pressure you to take immediate action, including sharing personal information.
Ask you to pay with gift cards, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or by mailing cash.
Threaten to seize your bank account.
Offer to move your money to a “protected” bank account.
Demand secrecy.
Direct message you on social media.
The agency did confirm Social Security employees do contact the public by telephone for business purposes. Ordinarily, the agency calls people who have recently applied for a SSA benefit, are already receiving payments and require an update to their record, or have requested a phone call from the agency. If there is a problem with a person's SSA number or record, SSA will typically mail a letter.
Four Basic Signs of a Scam:
Scams come in many varieties, suggested the SSA, but they all work the same way. Scammers typically:
Pretend to be from an agency or organization people know to gain trust.
Say there is a problem or a prize.
Pressure individuals to act immediately.
Tell people to pay in a specific way.
“Scammers frequently change their approach with new tactics and messages to trick people. We encourage you to stay up to date on the latest news and advisories by following SSA OIG on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook or subscribing to receive email alerts,” said the SSA. Additionally, they advised, “Be skeptical and look for red flags. If you receive a suspicious call, text message, email, letter, or message on social media, the caller or sender may not be who they say they are.”
“Fraudsters create imposter social media pages and accounts using Social Security-related images and jargon. This helps them appear as if they are associated with or endorsed by Social Security. The imposter pages could be for the agency or Social Security and OIG officials. The user is asked to send their financial information, Social Security number, or other sensitive information. Social Security will never ask for sensitive information through social media as these channels are not secure,” noted the SSA.
The SSA recommended people protect themselves, friends, and family. “If you receive a suspicious call, text, email, social media message, or letter from someone claiming to be from Social Security: Protect your money. Scammers will insist that you pay with a gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, money transfer, or by mailing cash. Scammers use these forms of payment because they are hard to trace.”
The SSA recommended to report scams to the Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report.
The ITRC Cautions about IRS Cons
“Criminals claiming to be with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are targeting people with emails and text messages. Scammers are claiming U.S. taxpayers are eligible for an Economic Impact Payment (EIP). However, it is a scam,” warned the ITRC, an El Cajon, Calif.-based national nonprofit organization that supports identity crime victims.
In the latest IRS scams, identity criminals send emails and texts to inboxes and phone numbers, claiming people are eligible to receive a payment. Many of the EIP payment scams say that each week, the IRS will continue to send EIP payments to eligible individuals as they process tax returns. The phishing emails also include a button to “claim my payment.” A handful of text messages ask individuals to reply, exit the text message, open it again, click the link or copy it into your Safari browser and open it. “However, messages like these are IRS scams seeking your personal and financial information to commit identity theft and fraud,” stated the ITRC.
The IRS will never email, text, call or send a message on social media to anyone, said the ITRC. “If you receive a message claiming to be from the IRS, ignore it. Forward it to the IRS at phishing@irs.gov
The ITRC began to see EIP scams by email and text during the COVID-19 pandemic when EIP payments were authorized as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. Now, the ITRC is getting reports of EIP payment scams where people receive text messages claiming they are eligible for a payment if they provide their personal information to a bogus website.
The ITRC recommended:
Ignore emails, texts or social media messages claiming to be from the IRS. Do not respond to the messages or click on any links or attachments because they could be malicious. Acting on the IRS scams by email, text or social media could lead to having your information stolen. The IRS will not email or message anyone. Do not share any personal information, including credit card and banking account numbers, except on the official www.IRS.gov website or the representative you contacted by calling the IRS.
Ignore calls claiming to be from the IRS. While IRS scams by email and text continue circulating, identity criminals could call you, too. “If you receive an unsolicited call claiming to be from the IRS, ignore it. The IRS will not call anyone unsolicited, either,” said the ITRC.
Send phishing emails to the IRS. The IRS asks anyone who receives a phony email to forward it to phishing@irs.gov and note that it seems to be a phishing scam seeking your information.
Report the identity crime. You can report identity fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) by visiting www.IdentityTheft.gov or at www.idtheftcenter.org