<HTML><HEAD></HEAD>
<BODY dir=ltr>
<DIV dir=ltr>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: 'Calibri'; COLOR: #000000">
<DIV>Greetings to all!</DIV>
<DIV>Received from Alice Eaddy.</DIV>
<DIV>Please share with others.</DIV>
<DIV>Joe Ruffalo </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>**</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV>Subject: FW: Social Security Administration and its Inspector General
Announce New Online Reporting Form for Imposter Scam Calls</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Social Security Administration and its Inspector General Announce New
Online Reporting Form for Imposter Scam Calls</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, announced
the
launch of a dedicated online form at <A
href="https://oig.ssa.gov">https://oig.ssa.gov</A> to receive reports
from
the public of Social Security-related scams. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>These scams—in which fraudulent callers mislead victims into making
cash or
gift card payments to avoid arrest for purported Social Security number
problems—skyrocketed over the past year to become the #1 type of fraud
reported
to the Federal Trade Commission and the Social Security
Administration.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>To combat these scams, Social Security and the OIG will use the new
online
form to capture data that will be analyzed for trends and commonalities. The
OIG
will use the data to identify investigative leads, which could help identify
criminal entities or individuals participating in or facilitating the scams.
Ultimately, these efforts are expected to disrupt the scammers, help reduce
this
type of fraud, and reduce the number of victims.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Commissioner Saul and Inspector General Ennis encourage the public to
use
the new online form to report Social Security phone scams including
robocalls
and live callers, as well as email, text, and in-person scams. The form
allows
people to create a unique Personal Identification Number (PIN), so if OIG
contacts a person about their report, they will know the call is
legitimate.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Social Security employees do occasionally contact people--generally
those
who have ongoing business with the agency--by telephone for business
purposes.
However, Social Security employees will never threaten a person, or promise
a
Social Security benefit approval, or increase, in exchange for information
or
money. In those cases, the call is fraudulent and people should just hang
up.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Generally, the agency mainly calls people who have recently applied for
a
Social Security benefit, someone who is already receiving payments and
requires
an update to their record, or a person who has requested a phone call from
the
agency. If a person is not in one of these situations, they normally would
not
receive a call from the agency.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Social Security will not:</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>* Tell you that your Social Security number has been
suspended.</DIV>
<DIV>* Contact you to demand an immediate payment.</DIV>
<DIV>* Ask you for credit or debit card numbers over the
phone.</DIV>
<DIV>* Require a specific means of debt repayment, like a
prepaid debit card, a retail gift card, or cash.</DIV>
<DIV>* Demand that you pay a Social Security debt without
the
ability to appeal the amount you owe.</DIV>
<DIV>* Promise a Social Security benefit approval, or
increase, in exchange for information or money.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>If there is a problem with a person’s Social Security number or record,
in
most cases Social Security will mail a letter. If a person needs to submit
payments to Social Security, the agency will send a letter with instructions
and
payment options. People should never provide information or payment over the
phone or Internet unless they are certain of who is receiving it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The Social Security OIG will also continue to take reports of fraud,
waste,
and abuse in Social Security’s programs and operations. A separate online
form
for those reports remains available at their website <<A
href="https://www.ssa.gov/fraudreport/oig/public_fraud_reporting/form.htm">https://www.ssa.gov/fraudreport/oig/public_fraud_reporting/form.htm</A>>
.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV
style='FONT-SIZE: small; TEXT-DECORATION: none; FONT-FAMILY: "Calibri";
FONT-WEIGHT: normal; COLOR: #000000; FONT-STYLE: normal; DISPLAY:
inline'></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></DIV></DIV></DIV></BODY></HTML>