Laura Young
ECB Publishing, Inc.
During National Consumer Protection Week (March 1-7) The Social Security Administration (SSA) is leading a National Slam the Scam Day on Thursday, March 5.
On that day, and any day, consumers can participate by using tools from the SSA and the Federal Trade Commission to recognize imposters and stop scammers from stealing money and personal information. They suggest three ways to get started:
1. Learn about common tactics and how to recognize the signs:
• Scammers often pretend to be a government official to gain trust and then present an unexpected problem, offer of a prize or promise of a government benefit increase.
• They pressure you to act immediately.
• They tell you to pay in a specific, sometimes unusual way, such as cryptocurrency, gift cards, gold bars, cash or wire transfers.
2. When dealing with a potential scammer:
• Remain calm, take a deep breath and talk about it to someone you know and trust.
• Hang up or ignore the message. Do not click on links or attachments.
• Do not send money.
• Protect your personal information.
3. Report suspicious activity.
• For Social Security-related issues, go to oig.ssa.gov/report.
• For other concerns report to the Federal Trade Commission at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
Visit ssa.gov/scam for more information, and share what you learn with others.