SOCIAL SECURITY SCAM ALERT

By Miriam Raftery

I recently signed up for Social Security.  On Aug. 12, a Saturday, I received an email from DoNotReply@ssa.gov with subject line “Request for Information” that Social Security confirms is a scam. Don’t be fooled into giving scammers info that could be used in an identity theft scheme or to steal benefits—and be sure to report suspected scams to the SSA’s Office of Inspector General at Report.Scam@ssa.gov.

The scammer’s email that I received states:

Please call our office before Monday, August 14, 2023 and ask for Mr. C. Fok. The telephone number is 877-772-3794 ext.32811.  We need to talk to you about: 

Your claim for Social Security benefits.

When you call our office, please have this letter with you. It will help us to serve you more quickly.

Social Security Administration

I went to the real Social Security Administration website and notified them of the email I received. They thanked me for bringing this to their attention and advised:  

This is not a legitimate request from the Social Security Administration.

We are aware of this fraudulent attempt to obtain confidential information and have referred it to the proper authorities for investigation.

We advise you to report receipt of this e-mail message or other suspicious activity to Social Security’s Office of Inspector General (OIG).  OIG has a special mailbox dedicated to receiving reports of possible scams.  Reporting phishing scams to this mailbox helps the OIG to collect information quickly to detect trends and to assist the OIG in shutting down fraudulent websites as soon as possible.  

Please send your report to: Report.Scam@ssa.gov