In today’s world, digitization is everything and as efficient as having everything available to you at the touch of a button is, an increased dependency on digitization comes with its fair share of risks — particularly cyber crime.
Social Security beneficiaries appear to be the latest target of a slew of cyber crimes that are sometimes occur with various digital systems. The scam targeting these vulnerable individuals is the Social Security Administration phishing scam wherein a seemingly official email is sent to the beneficiary allegedly from the Social Security Administration (SSA), however, when the recipient clicks on the link in the email, malware is uploaded to their device.
Here is what you need to know.
Social Security phishing scams
In simple terms, phishing is a form of cyber crime that utilizes either emails, text messages, or phone calls. The scammer leads the target to believe that they have an issue with something — in this case with their Social Security account — and they make use of this sense of urgency to get the target to reveal personal information which is then stolen, or to click on a link which will then cause malware to be installed on the recipient’s device, allowing the scammer to access or steal their personal information.
Recently, recipients of Social Security have been receiving official looking emails that are alleged to be from the SSA claiming that the Social Security number has been suspended, or other similar issues. An individual named Charles shared their experience of almost falling victim to this phishing scam with Fox News. According to Charles, an email claiming that their SSN had been flagged for serious crimes was sent to their inbox. A snippet of the email reads as follows:
“We are conducting an ongoing inquiry into your Social Security Number and identity due to suspected links to drug trafficking. A series of international wire transfers to accounts on the Federal Trade Commission’s restricted list has been flagged. There have been reports of suspicious activities associated with your Social Security Number in Texas and New Mexico. We would like to inform you that this document contains sensitive information and should be managed carefully. The document presented here is an official communication from the Social Security Administration, authorized by the Texas Attorney General. The Texas Court has directed the suspension of your Social Security Number due to its association with money laundering activities involving your bank accounts.”
The phisher makes use of official sounding terminology which would lead the reader to assume the email is legit at first glance which would then lead to a panic. This then makes the reader more susceptible to sharing private information in the hopes of saving themselves from legal repercussions for crimes they did not actually commit.
How to know if you are being phished
According to a report from The National Council on Aging (NCOA), “scams often target older adults. Scammers may believe that older adults have more wealth than other populations. Elder community members can be particularly vulnerable to online scams, with $3.4 billion in total fraud loss reported by Americans 60 and older in 2023.”
The importance of carefully reading through any official-looking mail is absolutely crucial when cyber crimes such as this phishing scam is on the rise. A good starting point is to always ensure antivirus programs are installed on your device as these can flag malware early on. In the particular case of this SSA phishing scam, recipients should also take note that the SSA does not suspend SSNs immediately due to a single incident, nor will such a reputable agency send out unsecured emails.
Additionally, the SSA Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has also issued a notice regarding the problem. In this alert, the OIG notes that, “government agencies end with ‘.gov’ as part of their official email address.”
If you feel that you have received a scam email, you can take the following steps to report it to the authorities:
- Forward the email to the Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG): [email protected]
- Report Social Security-related scams to the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of the Inspector General: oig.ssa.gov/report
- Report phishing or fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC): reportfraud.ftc.gov