Scammers Impersonate Social Security Administration

Another scam that seems to be hitting the state – and the Fond du Lac area – is impersonating the Social Security Administration. Callers demand the validation of personal information, saying your social security number will be deactivated without it. 

Department of Trade and Consumer Protection Director Michelle Reinen says the scammers tell consumers “that you need to call them and validate some information because there
has been a disruption with the system. And if you don’t take care of that right
now, your social security number will be deactivated.”

Reinen reminds everyone that this is not how any of the process actually works. She tells us “again the Social Security Administration doesn’t make those out of the blue phone calls. They would work with government, they would send you a letter – there would also be all over media if something had happened – some kind of disruption with the system. There would be very public communication on what needs to happen.”

Reinen tells consumers to “not return these phone calls. The caller ID looks like it’s from
Social Security Administration, the messages sound very legitimate – except for
the fact of we’re going to deactivate and the scare tactics that are left in
the message. You need to just ignore these.”
She reminds people to avoid giving any personal information, hang up, and report the call.