Social Security Scam Calls: What the Caller Says and What Social Security Never Asks

How a Social Security scam call works, step by step

The script is built to move you from calm to panic in a few minutes. The Social Security Administration (SSA) and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) describe the same four signs in every version: the caller pretends to be from an agency you know, says there is a problem or a prize, pressures you to act right now, and tells you to pay in a specific way (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).

1. The opener. A robocall or a live caller says there is a problem with your Social Security number or your benefits. Caller ID may show a real government or police number, because scammers spoof them (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).
2. The proof. The caller gives a real employee name, reads back part of your personal information, or texts a photo of a badge or an official-looking letter. Social Security says federal law enforcement and federal employees will never send photographs of credentials or badges to demand any kind of payment (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).
3. The handoff. You are transferred to a supposed agent or officer who will help you avoid arrest. Social Security warned on July 29, 2026 that legitimate companies and other agencies cannot transfer your phone call directly to Social Security or the OIG (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).
4. The ask. You are told to move money to a protected account, buy gift cards, send cryptocurrency, mail cash, or hand cash or gold bars to a courier (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).
5. The secrecy. You are told not to tell your bank, your family or anyone else. Demanding secrecy is on Social Security's own list of scam tactics (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).

What the caller says: common script lines

These lines show up again and again. Each maps to a tactic on SSA's red flag list (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).

• "Your Social Security number has been suspended because it was linked to a crime." (Threatening to suspend your number or account.)
• "Your benefits will stop today unless you verify your information."
• "To receive your cost-of-living adjustment, we need to confirm your bank account." (Social Security lists claims that you must give information or pay to activate a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) as a scam tactic.)
• "Your bank account is about to be seized. Move your savings to a safe government account."
• "There is a warrant for your arrest. I am transferring you to the officer handling your case."
• "Do not discuss this with your bank teller. They may be part of the investigation."

The same playbook arrives by text, email, social media message and printed letter. Social Security says it will never ask for sensitive or personal information through social media, email or text message (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).

What real Social Security contact looks like

The safest rule: you can always hang up and call Social Security yourself. Use the number printed in Social Security's own publications, 1-800-772-1213 (Social Security Administration, Publication 05-10064, March 2026), not a number the caller gives you.

• A demand for gift cards, gold, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency or mailed cash is a scam signal. SSA says scammers insist on these because they are hard to trace (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).
• Social Security will not ask for sensitive information by text, email or social media (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).

Paid services that copy Social Security are a separate problem. Section 1140 of the Social Security Act makes it illegal to mislead you by pretending to be associated with or endorsed by Social Security, for example by charging for a replacement card or a Social Security Statement that you can get free (SSA, Fraud Prevention and Reporting, checked October 14, 2026). Your own record is free in a my Social Security account; see our Social Security Statement guide.

Why this matters more when you have real savings

The newest version targets your nest egg, not a small fee. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) found that reports from adults 60 and over who lost $10,000 or more to government and business impersonators grew from 1,790 in 2020 to 8,269 in 2024, and reports of losses over $100,000 rose nearly sevenfold over the same years (FTC Data Spotlight, August 7, 2025).

In those large-loss reports, 41% said the scam started with a phone call, 33% said they paid with cryptocurrency, and 21% of reports with losses over $100,000 mentioned gold (FTC Data Spotlight, August 7, 2025). The pitch is that your accounts are compromised and your money must be moved to protect it. No real agency asks you to do that.

A forced withdrawal from an individual retirement account (IRA) or 401(k) can add a tax bill to the loss; the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) warns such a withdrawal could affect your taxes (IRS, Recognize tax scams and fraud, April 7, 2026). A tax professional can help with the reporting.

What to do right now if you paid or shared your number

Criminal behavior is not your fault (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026). Speed matters more than embarrassment. Work through these steps in order.

1. Stop all contact. Hang up, do not call back, and block the number or email address (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026).
2. Call your bank or card issuer. Use the number on the back of your card. Report the fraud and ask them to reverse the payment. For gift cards, call the issuer and keep the card and receipt (FTC, What To Do if You Were Scammed, checked October 14, 2026).
3. Lock down your Social Security record. Sign in to or create your my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount, which alerts you if anyone tries to change your address or direct deposit (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026). You can also ask Social Security to add an eServices block, which stops anyone, including you, from seeing or changing your information online, and a Direct Deposit Fraud Prevention block. Removing either block requires contacting your local office (SSA, Fraud Prevention and Reporting, checked October 14, 2026).
4. Freeze your credit. A credit freeze stops anyone from opening new credit in your name, and there is no cost to place or lift it. Contact each of the three credit bureaus (FTC, Credit Freezes and Fraud Alerts, checked October 14, 2026).
5. Get a recovery plan. Report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov, which builds a step-by-step plan. If you worry someone may file a tax return in your name, an IRS Identity Protection PIN can stop that; see our IRS scam calls page.
6. Report it. File a report with the Social Security OIG at oig.ssa.gov/report or call the OIG fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern, weekdays (SSA, Fraud Prevention and Reporting, checked October 14, 2026). Also call your local police (SSA, Protect Yourself from Scams, checked October 14, 2026) and report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. If money moved online, file at ic3.gov.

Save the caller ID number, any callback number, texts, emails and the full envelope of any letter. Investigators ask for exactly that detail (SSA, Fraud Prevention and Reporting, checked October 14, 2026).

A plain example with numbers: reported losses to government impersonators

The table uses complaint counts and losses that people 60 and over reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) under "Government Impersonation", a category that covers anyone posing as a government official to collect or extort money (FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report, April 2026). Social Security impersonation is one part of it. Reported figures understate the real total, because many people never report.

The arithmetic: $413,206,251 divided by 8,628 complaints is about $47,891 per complaint in 2025. People 60 and over filed about 27% of government impersonation complaints (8,628 of 32,424) but reported about 52% of the dollars ($413.2 million of $797.9 million), so the average older victim lost roughly twice what the average victim of any age lost ($47,891 versus $24,610). All figures: FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, 2025 Internet Crime Report, April 2026.

A hypothetical household with $600,000 in savings shows why the safe-account story works. If a caller convinces them that $150,000 must be moved today, that one transfer is 25% of their savings, and once paid, the money may already be gone (FTC, What To Do if You Were Scammed, checked October 14, 2026). That is why the first rule is to hang up and call Social Security yourself.

Sources

The Retirement Literacy Foundation is a 501(c)(3) public charity. This page is general education, not tax, legal or investment advice. Nothing is sold here, no product is recommended, and RLF accepts no funding from financial companies. Rules and figures change; each one above shows its source and date. Check anything you plan to act on with your state insurance department or a qualified professional who is not paid on the product.