{"id":1003,"date":"2020-10-08T10:08:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-08T14:08:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=1003"},"modified":"2022-01-28T11:41:58","modified_gmt":"2022-01-28T16:41:58","slug":"social-security-number-phishing-scams","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/social-security-number-phishing-scams\/","title":{"rendered":"Social Security Number Phishing Scams"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-black-color has-text-color has-normal-font-size\">Since August 1, the Consumer Assistance Program has received <strong>approximately 275 reports<\/strong> of the Social Security number phishing scam!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-black-color has-text-color has-medium-font-size\"><strong>Here\u2019s how the scam works:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>You receive a <strong>phone call<\/strong> stating that there has been <strong>criminal or fraudulent activity<\/strong> involving your Social Security number. The scammer may also claim to be a government agency or law enforcement, threatening arrest or serious consequences. The scam often begins as a robocall.<\/li><li>If you \u201cpress 1\u201d, you are connected to a live person, who <strong>claims to be a detective or law enforcement agent<\/strong>. They spin a detailed story about a crime committed involving your Social Security number.<\/li><li>Then, the scammer attempts to obtain your personal information and money. <strong>Never provide your Social Security number or bank account numbers over the phone, especially to an unknown caller.<\/strong><\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery columns-3 is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\"><ul class=\"blocks-gallery-grid\"><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"155\" height=\"155\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/phone-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1017\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/phone-3.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?attachment_id=1017\" class=\"wp-image-1017\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/phone-3.jpg 155w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/phone-3-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 155px) 100vw, 155px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"177\" height=\"177\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/phone-call-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1018\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/phone-call-3.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?attachment_id=1018\" class=\"wp-image-1018\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/phone-call-3.jpg 177w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/phone-call-3-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 177px) 100vw, 177px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><li class=\"blocks-gallery-item\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"171\" height=\"171\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/robber-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" data-id=\"1016\" data-full-url=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/robber-4.jpg\" data-link=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?attachment_id=1016\" class=\"wp-image-1016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/robber-4.jpg 171w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/robber-4-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 171px) 100vw, 171px\" \/><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-normal-font-size\">If you receive a Social Security number phishing scam call, <em><strong>hang up the phone!<\/strong><\/em> Do not press 1 or attempt to connect to a live person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">The Social Security Administration will contact you via official letters in the mail if necessary. <strong>If you receive a call threatening arrest, <em>it\u2019s a scam.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/SSN-Scam-Alert-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1011\" width=\"408\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/SSN-Scam-Alert-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/files\/2020\/10\/SSN-Scam-Alert-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 408px) 100vw, 408px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\"><strong>Take it SLOW: <\/strong>Scammers pressure you to act fast, demanding personal information and payment, while threatening extreme consequences if you do not comply. Don\u2019t let them pressure you! Remember to <strong>slow<\/strong> down, hang up the phone, and <strong>log<\/strong> the call. All it takes is <strong>one call<\/strong> to someone in your life to talk it through. If you still need help identifying the scam, make an additional call to someone <strong>who cares<\/strong>. You can always call CAP, we care and can discuss scams with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-flow wp-block-group-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-normal-font-size\">If you <em>do<\/em> provide personal information to the scammers over the phone, here are some proactive steps you can take to protect your information and your finances:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>Report the scam to CAP: (800) 649-2424 or <a href=\"mailto:ago.cap@vermont.gov\">ago.cap@vermont.gov<\/a><\/li><li>If you provided your Social Security number to the scammers:<ol><li>File an identity theft report with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.identitytheft.gov\/\">Federal Trade Commission<\/a> and your local police.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/credit-101\/\">Check your credit reports and place a fraud alert or freeze on your credit.<\/a><\/li><li>Watch out for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.consumer.ftc.gov\/articles\/0271-warning-signs-identity-theft\">identity theft warning signs<\/a>.<\/li><\/ol><\/li><li>If you provided financial information, such as bank account numbers or credit card numbers, contact the involved financial institutions right away.<\/li><li>If you provided the scammers with a payment via gift card, call the phone number on the back of the card.<\/li><\/ol>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Contributing Writer: Madison Braz<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Content Editor: Crystal Baldwin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Since August 1, the Consumer Assistance Program has received approximately 275 reports of the Social Security number phishing scam! Here\u2019s how the scam works: You receive a phone call stating that there has been criminal or fraudulent activity involving your Social Security number. The scammer may also claim to be a government agency or law&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/social-security-number-phishing-scams\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Social Security Number Phishing Scams<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5684,"featured_media":1022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[481474,505515,607,602298,484616,482450,639385,505542],"class_list":["post-1003","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-consumer","tag-identity-theft","tag-phishing","tag-robocalls","tag-scam","tag-scams","tag-social-security","tag-social-security-number-phishing","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5684"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1003"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1224,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1003\/revisions\/1224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1003"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1003"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1003"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}