It isn’t an Emergency; It is a Scam!
It is that time of year again. You are working on your taxes and identify thieves are working on getting your personal information.
It is a scary call - someone from Social Security needs to verify your identity and social security number to reactivate your account. Or you get a call that you are about to be arrested because you haven’t paid your taxes. Or perhaps you hear “Hello Grandma” from someone who claims to be your grandchild and needs your help. What do all of these calls have in common? They are scary and they are scams to get your personal information. And you should hang up immediately.
The Social Security Administration and the Internal Revenue Service will never call and threaten your benefits or ask you to wire money. You are not going to be arrested and your bank accounts are not going to be seized. And scammers are getting more crafty - using the real Social Security 800 number on your caller ID.
Always be the one who initiates calls to your bank, government agencies, and investment firms. If you get one of the scam calls, tell the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.
Below is an example of a scam call:
The voicemail transcribed above was actually received by a Seabury employee last week.
