Do you know someone who was among the 35,000 seniors who lost over $10 million in 2018 (according to the FTC) by responding to a phone call from “Social Security”? Yes, that many people and that much money!
Scammers target seniors because Social Security is, for most of them, the difference between homed and homeless, eating and malnutrition or starvation, quality of life and despair. Their fear of being cut off from the Social Security money they earned makes them very vulnerable.
If this is you or you have a loved one who might be in such danger, remember this–and pass it on to every senior you know. The real Social Security Administration will never 1) call without warning, 2) threaten or say that your benefits will be cancelled, or 3) say that the problem can be solved if you send money or gift cards to a location they give you.
If you have any doubts that what the caller is saying could be true, hang up and call the real Social Security at (800)772-1213.