Scammers Now Use SSA to Get Personal Information of Americans

Criminals have a new target when it comes to swindling Americans over the phone.

A new report claims that there have been scammers pretending to be a federal tax representative to get money and personal information of consumers.

In the past, it is known that scammers use the IRS or the Internal Revenue Service. Now that a lot of Americans are already aware of this tactic, these criminals have diverted into another agency.

In fact, according to Elk Valley Times, scammers have utilized the technology to increase the sophistication of their acts. For instance, they have found a way to spoof phone numbers to hide their identities.

“The DHS Scammers are falsely claiming they represent US Immigration or other government entities. By altering Caller ID systems, they make it appear that the call is coming from the DHS HQ Operation number,” according to the statement of the Office of Inspector General.

Meanwhile, Attorney General Rutledge and the Federal Trade Commission released some tips to follow when a sketchy caller has reached you:

“Use due diligence to confirm the identity and legitimacy of the person on the other end of the phone by hanging up and finding the phone number from an old bill or the organization’s website before giving or confirming any information.”

Some experts also claim that while the number of scam reports is increasing, the government bodies are doing its part to solve these issues. These agencies are releasing more warning and announcements to make the people aware of the fake income-tax calls.

These agencies also say that people shouldn’t easily trust these callers as Con artists have mastered certain skills to make themselves sound professional.

In 2018, there have been over 76,000 reports about the Social Security scammers. About 36,000 of these complaints lost almost $6.7 million.