Throughout the vast majority of 2022, Social Security recipients and consumers, in general, were forced to contend with soaring inflation.
A very generous cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2023 was the only positive result of this. At the beginning of the year, benefits for recipients increased by 8.7%. This is the largest COLA to be implemented in decades.
Increased Social Security Benefit
While the increased benefits have given millions of seniors some financial breathing room, the reality is that criminals have been motivated to steal a larger share of that money. Current recipients also need to know how to spot a scam to keep their benefits.
A scammer may also contact you via email, claiming they can improve your benefits package in exchange for a wire transfer to a certain account. Or, a fraudster may contact you and demand immediate verification of your Social Security number and bank account details or threaten to have you arrested.
All of these scams have the potential to expose sensitive financial data to bad actors. Once they have this information, they can try to steal your benefits as well as any other money they can get their hands on. Therefore, it is crucial to recognize the warning signs that a con artist has attempted to contact you.
Read more: FDA Revokes Approval Of Previous COVID-19 Vaccines From Pfizer And Moderna
Taking Precautions to Avoid Scams
In general, the Social Security Administration will not contact you unexpectedly via telephone, text message, or electronic mail. Also, the agency will not ask you to send money via wire transfer, gift card, or any other method to “unlock” your benefits or set up a higher monthly check.
If you receive a text message or email with a link to click for more information about your Social Security account or benefits, it is also likely a scam. Therefore, you should disregard any suspicious messages of this nature.
Also, if a scammer attempts to contact you, it is recommended that you report it via this link. Thus, the Social Security Administration can investigate the matter and, ideally, prevent the perpetrator from causing further damage.
Remember that you may be able to identify a Social Security scam and avoid being victimized.
However, it is possible that other senior citizens are not as savvy. If you report criminal activity as soon as you discover it, you could save someone in a similar situation a great deal of trouble.
Read more: SpaceX Starship Disaster Sends Debris Flying Across Miles