Social Security scam calls are making their way through Warren County. 

Scammers are calling individuals reliant on their Social Security incomes, requesting sensitive Social Security related information. Scammers have threatened to freeze Social Security assets if the victims are not complicit with their demands. 

One local woman received a phone call from someone claiming to be from Social Security. The caller told her they were not asking for information, then proceeded to tell her if she did not give them her Social Security number they would deactivate her number for five years. The woman did not fall for the scam, but is worried an older person may fall for it.  

Potential victims are cautioned to stay vigilant and follow the Social Security Association’s guidelines for avoiding becoming a victim of phone scamming. 

According to a March 8 post on the SSA’s website, “Scammers contact you about a Social Security-related problem. Scammers may use official looking letters or pictures of identification badges to gain your trust. Scammers want money and personal information.”

Scammers have various ways of corresponding with potential victims such as calls, emails, texts or social media messages. They can claim to be from the SSA or the Office of the Inspector General. 

Be aware of the four basic signs of a scam; scammers pretend to be from an agency, claim there is a problem, pressure you to act promptly and immediately ask for payment in a specific way. 

The SSA, according to ssa.gov, will never threaten a client with arrest or legal action for not paying money immediately, suspend your SSN, request sensitive information or payment to activate a cost of living adjustment or other benefit increase, pressure a client to take immediate action, threaten to seize a client’s bank account, offer to move a client’s money to a “protected” bank account, demand secrecy or direct message a client on social media. 

The best ways to avoid a scam are to remain calm, hang up or ignore the message, protect your money and personal information, spread the word about potential scammers and then report the scam. Scams can be reported at oig.ssa.gov/report.

The Social Security Association has more information on what to do if you have been scammed at www.ssa.gov.