The Whiteside County Sheriff’s Office has received several complaints today, Friday, January 25, 2019, about individuals receiving calls from a someone making threats against their Social Security Number. These are not legitimate calls. If you receive one, you should simply hang up. The following information was provided by the Social Security Administration, “The best practice is just to hang up, or call the Social Security Administration directly with any concerns.”
Federal officials also offer the following tips.
- Your Social Security number is not about to be suspended. You do not have to verify your number to anyone who calls “out of the blue.” Your bank accounts are not about to be seized.
- SSA will never call to threaten your benefits or tell you to wire money, send cash, or put money on gift cards. Anyone who tells you to do those things is a scammer. Every time.
- The real SSA number is 1-800-772-1213, but scammers are putting that number in the caller ID. If you are worried about what the caller says, hang up. Call 1-800-772-1213 to speak to the real SSA. Even if the wait time is long, confirm with the real SSA before responding to one of these scam calls.
- Never give any part of your Social Security number to anyone who contacts you.
- Never give your bank account or credit card number to anyone who contacts you.
Please share this with your friends and family.