Social Security. Don t be a Scam Victim- You re in Control. This presentation produced at U.S. taxpayer expense.

Transcription

1 Social Security Don t be a Scam Victim- You re in Control This presentation produced at U.S. taxpayer expense.

2 Identity Theft and Scams Ø Scammers have claimed to be SSA employees Ø Types of Scams Ø Identity Theft Ø Recovering from Identity Theft

3 Scam Tactics Telephone

4 Scammers will: Telephone Scams Ø Call you to demand an immediate payment; Ø Demand that you pay a debt without the ability to appeal the amount you owe; Ø Require a specific means of payment, such as requiring you to pay with a prepaid debit card; Ø Ask you for your personal information or credit or debit card numbers over the phone; or Ø Threaten you with arrest or deportation.

5 What should you do? Ø Hang up immediately; Ø For Social Security impersonations, contact Social Security s Office of Inspector General at Ø For IRS impersonations, contact the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) at using the IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting page; and Ø Contact the Federal Trade Commission at

6 How SSA Communicates Ø Any legitimate request from a government agency will come to you in writing. Ø If you do receive a call from a government official, they will be able to provide you with a telephone number and extension Ø You can find contact information on any.gov website such as socialsecurity.gov

7 What is phishing? Phishing s Phishing is the practice of using social engineering techniques over to trick a recipient into revealing personal information, clicking on a malicious link, or opening a malicious attachment.

8 Phishing s Ø Phishing s encouraging you to create a my Social Security account are circulating. Ø Recently, phishing s have been sent with the subject line, Review Your Social Security Activity. Ø This type of phishing scheme could lead to identity theft or Social Security benefit theft.

9 How To Detect A Phishing Scam Ø Most s from Social Security will come from a.gov" address. If an address does not end in.gov, use caution before clicking on pictures or links in the . Ø In a few instances, we use marketing firms to raise awareness of Social Security s online services, and this includes creating a my Social Security account. We allow these firms to send directly to individuals. Any links you find within these s should always point to a.gov/ web address.

10 Examples of Fraudulent Websites Ø Ø

11 What should you do? Ø If you are not certain that an you received came from Social Security or one of our marketing firms, DO NOT respond to the or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, navigate directly to the Social Security website, and click on the my Social Security icon. Ø Report the incident by forwarding the scam to the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team at (

12 Scam Detection Tips Rather than rely on the way a link looks, please follow these steps to confirm authenticity: Ø Links to the official Social Security website will always begin with or Ø To verify the web address of a link or picture, hover over it with your mouse until a text box appears with the web address. This is the actual address you will be directed to and it should always end in.gov/ A forward slash should always follow the.gov domain. Ø Example -

13 More Tips Ø Look for poor choices in wording, phrasing, or spelling. Use caution when opening from people you do not know. Ø If an includes a business name, telephone number, or website link, verify the legitimacy of these items by searching for the official number or website in a search engine. Ø Do not respond to s requesting personal information. Reputable businesses and public agencies will not ask you for personal information in an .

14 If you suspect Social Security Fraud We take fraud seriously! If you suspect fraud, waste, or abuse, report it to SSA s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) by: Ø Submitting a report online at and using the e-8551 (Fraud Reporting Form); Ø Calling the OIG Hotline at from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (EST) (TTY for the deaf or hard of hearing); Ø Faxing your statement to ; or Ø Mailing your statement to Social Security Fraud Hotline, P.O. Box 17785, Baltimore, MD

15 Are there other resources I can use to learn more about phishing? Ø For more information about phishing visit the Federal Trade Commission s website at: or identity-theft Ø You can also visit the U.S. Postal Inspection Service regarding illegal telemarketing and mail fraud schemes at: MailFraud/fraudschemes/SeniorFraud.aspx

16 Popular Scams Ø Paying Too Much Ø Charity Fraud Ø Health Care Scams Ø Tech Support Scams Ø You ve Won Scams Ø Grandkid Scams Ø Online Dating Scams Ø Imposter Scams Ø IRS Imposter Scams

17 Paying Too Much Bills, Bills and..more Bills How Many Kinds of Bills? How Much for Each Bill?

18 What if a Bill Goes Up Why Ø Rate Increase? Ø Interest Rate Change? Ø Unexpected Change? Action Ø Ask Questions Ø Talk to the Company Ø Shop Around Ø Know What You Pay Ø Ask for What you Want

19 Charity Fraud Ø Scammers make a Phone Call Ø Charity Name May Sounds Familiar Ø Scammer may Thank You for a pledge they say you made before Ø Pressure to Pay Quickly Ø Sketchy on the Details

20 What we do? No, Thanks. and Hang up. or I don t give money over the phone. If you send something in writing, I ll consider it.

21 What we ll never do Ø Send cash Ø Wire money Ø Load prepaid debit cards

22 Health Care Scams Ø Scammers say you need a new Medicare card, or a new Health Insurance card, or you need a Discounted Health Insurance Ø To act now!

23 But you don t need Ø To get a new Medicare card or to Ø To buy bogus discounted insurance Ø Act now or to

24 Scammers want your Ø Social Security number Ø Financial Information Ø Insurance Number Ø Money

25 If you suspect a Medicare Scam Ø Medicare Ø

26 Tech Support Scams Ø Scammers claim to be computer techs associated with well-know companies Ø Trick you into giving them remote access to your computer

27 How Tech Support Scams Work Ø Fake websites offer free security scans and send alarming messages telling you that your website is infected. Ø They try to sell you software to fix the problem. Ø Software is worthless, or available elsewhere for free Ø Or, the software is malware

28 Common Tech Support Scammer Tricks Ø The scammer asks you to give them remote access to your computer Ø The scammer wants to enroll you in a worthless computer maintenance or warranty program Ø You are billed for phony services or services that are free elsewhere Ø You are tricked into installing malware Ø You are directed to websites that ask you to enter your credit card number and other personal information

29 What is Malware Ø Malware is short for malicious software Ø Malware is software that: Disrupts computer or mobile operations Gathers sensitive information Gains access to private computer systems Ø Malware may steal or spy on computer users or may be designed to cause harm or sabotage Ø Malware may be embedded in non-malicious files

30 What we do Ø Hang up Ø Call the company on a phone number you know to be genuine Ø Find the company s contact information on their software package or on your receipt Ø Put your phone number on the National Do Not Call Registry and report illegal sales calls

31 What we ll never do Ø Give control of your computer to a third party who calls you out of the blue Ø Not rely on caller ID alone to authenticate a caller Ø Search online for a company s contact information Ø Provide credit card or financial information Ø Buy computer security products or pay a subscription fee from a caller Ø Give your password over the phone

32 If You ve Responded to a Tech Scam Ø Get rid of malware, update or download legitimate security and delete anything it identifies as a problem Ø Change any passwords you gave out Ø Call your credit card and ask to reverse the charges Ø File a complaint with FTC at ftc.gov/ complaint

33 Refund Scams-How it Works Scammer calls about a tech support refund and asked for your Ø credit card, or Ø bank account information, or Ø ask you to create a Western Union account, or Ø ask for remote access to your computer

34 Ø Hang up What we do Ø Report the incident to ftc.gov/complaint

35 You ve Won Scams You re the BIG WINNER Ø A Prize Ø A Sweepstake Ø The Lottery Ø A Trip

36 How It Works Ø Scammers tells you there s a fee, or taxes, or customs duties to pay before you get your winnings. Ø Scammers ask for your credit card number or bank account information, or ask you to wire money. Ø If you pay, the scammers will keep coming back to you and asking for more money for that Big Prize

37 What we never do Ø Give out credit card number Ø Give out bank account number Ø Add money to prepaid cards Ø Wire Money to anyone

38 What we do Ø When in doubt check it out! Ø Report the incident to ftc.gov/ complaint

39 Grandkid Scams Ø Scammers claim to be your grandkid and ask for money for bail, or for a medical bill, or some other kind of trouble Ø Scammers say it s urgent.and to keep it a secret Ø Scammers can be convincing, using social networking site information or hacked information for social engineering.

40 What we do Ø Hang up Ø Call your grandkid, or call another family member Ø Report the incident to the ftc.gov/complaint

41 Online Dating Scams Ø Male and Female scammers make fake dating profiles and build relationships Ø Scammer wants to quickly move off of the dating site to or phone calls Ø Scammer says that he loves you, but lives far away Ø Scammer asks for money for something urgent or to visit you

42 What we never do Do NOT send money, Do NOT wire money, Do NOT put money or a prepaid debit card, Do NOT send cash to an online love interest

43 What we do Report the scam to ftc.gov/complaint Or FTC-HELP

44 Imposter Scams Ø Scammer calls or s you and says that you ve won a prize or there is an emergency. Ø Scammer may pretend to be a relative or friend. Ø Scammer will ask you to wire money to pay taxes or fees or to help someone you care about.

45 What we do Ø Call the person, relative, friend and get the real story Ø Call the government agency asking for money. Ø Report scams to ftc.gov/complaint

46 What we never do Never wire money to a government agency. A government agency will never ask you to wire money.

47 IRS Imposter Scams Ø Scammer claims to be from IRS and says you owe back taxes Ø Scammer threatens to sue, arrest, deport, or revoke license unless you pay right away Ø Scammer asks you to put money on a prepaid debit card and to give you the card numbers. Ø Scammer may know your SSN and caller ID may show Washington DC area code

48 Ø The real IRS will NOT ask you to pay with prepaid debit cards or wire transfers. The real IRS will NOT ask for a credit card over the phone. Ø If you have unpaid taxes, the IRS first contacts you by mail, not by phone Ø Caller IDs can be faked

49 What to do Ø Hang up Ø Call the IRS if you are not sure Ø Report scam to ftc.gov/complaint

50 What we never do Ø Do NOT wire money Ø Do NOT pay with a prepaid debit card or an itunes card

51 Identity Theft Someone runs up bills in your name using your good name and Ø SSN or Medicare number Ø Your credit card or your medical insurance

52 How You Discover the ID Theft Ø You get bills for things you didn t buy or services you didn t get Ø Your bank account has withdrawals you didn t make Ø You didn t get a bill you expect Ø Your credit report has accounts you never knew about

53 How to Avoid ID Theft Ø Shred documents before you throw them out Ø Give your SSN only when you must Ø Use Strong Passwords Online

54 1. Read your monthly statements and check for accuracy 2. Once a year get a free credit report from AnnualCreditReport.com

55 Report Suspect Identity Theft Ø ACT QUICKLY Ø Call the FTC at FTC-HELP or Ø The FTC operator will give you the next steps

56 Recovering from ID Theft Ø Call the companies where you know fraud occurred. Ø Place a fraud alert on your credit reports and get copies of your report. Ø Report the identity theft to the FTC Ø File a report with your local police department

57 FTC IdentityTheft.gov

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63 Questions?

64 Set yourself free Open a my Social Security account. Verify your earnings record Check your personalized benefit estimates for retirement and disability Replace your Social Security card (in some states and the District of Columbia) If you already receive benefits you can: Update your address, phone number, and direct deposit information Print a benefit verification letter Get a replacement SSA-1099/1042S Register today! Produced at U.S. taxpayer expense