Social Security and OIG Hold 5th Annual National Slam the Scam Day

Social Security and OIG Hold 5th Annual National Slam the Scam Day

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The Social Security Administration and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) are partnering once again to raise public awareness about Social Security imposter scams during their fifth annual "Slam the Scam" Day on March 7.

"As public servants, we must use every tool at our disposal to raise awareness and protect the American people against Social Security imposter scams," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "Scammers use fear and deception to scare people out of their critical benefits. We urge everyone to protect their personal information, remain vigilant, do not give money, and report any scam attempts to oig.ssa.gov."

Social Security scams--where fraudsters mislead victims into making cash, gift card, or wire transfer payments to fix alleged Social Security number problems or to avoid arrest--are an ongoing government imposter fraud scheme. Social Security impersonation scams have been one of the most common government imposter scams reported to the Federal Trade Commission. Social Security continues to make concerted efforts to address this issue, through extensive outreach and investigative initiatives.

Criminals use sophisticated tactics to trick potential victims into disclosing personal and financial information. Typically, they use these P's - Pretend, Prize or Problem, Pressure, and Payment. For example, scammers pretend they are from Social Security in phone calls, texts, emails, and direct messages on social media, and claim there is a problem with the person's Social Security number. The scammer's caller ID may be spoofed to look like a legitimate government number. Scammers may also send fake documents to pressure people into complying with demands for information or money. Other common tactics include citing "badge numbers," using fraudulent Social Security letterhead, and creating imposter social media pages to target individuals for payment or personal information.

"On our fifth National Slam the Scam Day, we are just as committed as we were in 2020. The scammers have not stopped, and we will not stop in our commitment to increase public awareness of these pervasive scams," said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for SSA. "We are grateful for the many partnerships we have formed over the last 5 years in support of this initiative and the collaborative efforts that have come forth. We must continue to work together to slam the scam."

Social Security will never tell you that your Social Security number is suspended; contact you to demand an immediate payment; threaten you with arrest; ask for your credit or debit card numbers over the phone; request gift cards or cash; or promise a Social Security benefit approval or increase in exchange for information or money.

Social Security employees do contact the public by telephone for business purposes. Ordinarily, the agency calls people who have recently applied for a Social Security benefit, are already receiving payments and require an update to their record, or have requested a phone call from the agency. If there is a problem with a person's Social Security number or record, Social Security will typically mail a letter.

Today's events include:

• 1 p.m. ET: Join USAgov's National Consumer Protection Week (NCPW) X/Twitter chat (in Spanish) for advice on avoiding common scams with @USAGovEspanol. Follow the conversation by using the hashtags #OjoConLasEstafas and #NCPW2024.
• 3 p.m. ET: Join USAgov's NCPW X/Twitter chat (in English) for advice on avoiding common scams with @USAGov. Follow the conversation by using the hashtags #SlamTheScamChat and #NCPW2024.

To report a scam attempt, go to oig.ssa.gov. For more information, please visit www.ssa.gov/scam and www.ssa.gov/fraud.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

Social Security Publishes Proposed Rule for Payroll Information Exchange to Reduce Improper Payments

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Today, the Social Security Administration published a proposed rule, "Use of Electronic Payroll Data to Improve Program Administration," describing the agency's plans for accessing and using information from payroll data providers to reduce improper payments, including overpayments, which improves service to customers.

Unreported, late reported, and incorrectly reported earnings are often a cause of overpayments for people who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments. When a person has been overpaid, the law requires the agency to ask for repayment, which can create financial difficulties for beneficiaries.

"Social Security is taking a critically important step to reduce improper payments, including overpayments, by ensuring we receive timely and accurate wage data. These automated payroll information exchanges will address the inefficiencies associated with self-reporting and manual verification by introducing a more streamlined approach," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "These exchanges will prevent inequities caused by improper payments by enabling Social Security employees to adjust SSI payments before they are issued and help us more efficiently administer SSDI."

Social Security is working to reduce wage-related improper payments by using its legal authority to establish information exchanges with payroll data providers. These exchanges will help ensure the agency receives timely and accurate wage data. These exchanges and the agency's planned business process is called the Payroll Information Exchange (PIE).

PIE will help reduce manual reporting errors as well as the reporting burden for individuals who authorize Social Security to obtain their wage and employment information through these information exchanges and work for employers whose payroll data is available through the exchange. PIE will also help to more quickly identify wages that often go unreported or undetected and which can lead to improper payments.

People may read the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) here. Public comment is an important part of this process and people may provide comments on the NPRM by April 15, 2024.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.

Social Security Administration Updates Equity Action Plan

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Increasing access to programs and improving service are the main goals of the updated Equity Action Plan released by the Social Security Administration (SSA) today.

"We will administer our programs equitably by reducing administrative burdens and reaching underserved people," said Martin O'Malley, Commissioner of Social Security. "In line with the Administration's whole-of-government approach to deliver better outcomes for the American people, I'm pleased to share our Equity Action Plan 2023 Update."

In 2022, SSA released its first Equity Action Plan in accordance with the President's Executive Order, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.

The updated SSA Equity Action Plan includes several new focus areas:

• Ensure language does not pose barriers to apply for benefits and access services;
• Reduce pending Supplemental Security Income (SSI) underpayments and assess root causes of improper payments; and
• Increase awareness of survivors benefits, especially among people disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

The new Equity Action Plan also builds on progress made since 2022 to:

• Simplify the SSI application;
• Update the agency's systems and Social Security number business processes; and
• Provide more demographic data to the public to further identify, monitor, and address where there are service inequities.

For more information about the actions outlined in the Equity Action Plan, please visit www.ssa.gov/equity. To learn about a whole-of-government approach to advance equity for all, visit www.whitehouse.gov/equity.

To get more Social Security news, follow the Press Office on Twitter @SSAPress.