A Mercer County man is $2,200 poorer after falling for a telephone scam.
State Police say the 50-year-old Jackson Center man told them that someone called him Tuesday saying that he was under investigation for fraudulent activity associated with his social security number.
He was told to buy pre-paid cash cards and give the numbers on the cards to the caller.
By the time the victim reported the scam to police, he had sent the suspect $2,200.
Just last month an Austintown woman was scammed out of $13,000 by a caller claiming to be from the Social Security Administration.
Earlier this month the Acting Inspector General of Social Security warned citizens about an ongoing caller-ID “spoofing” scheme misusing the Social Security Administration’s national customer service phone number.
The agency said it has received numerous reports of questionable phone calls displaying SSA’s 1-800 number on a caller-ID screen. Social Security officials say citizens should not engage with the callers or provide any personal information.
The reports indicate the calls display 1-800-772-1213, SSA’s national customer service number, as the incoming number on caller ID. People who have accepted the calls said the caller identifies as an SSA employee.
In some cases, the caller states that SSA does not have all of the person’s personal information, such as their Social Security number (SSN), on file. Other callers claim SSA needs additional information so the agency can increase the person’s benefit payment, or that SSA will terminate the person’s benefits if they do not confirm their information. This appears to be a widespread issue, as reports have come from citizens across the country.
SSA employees do contact citizens by telephone for customer-service purposes, and in some situations, an SSA employee may request the citizen confirm personal information over the phone. However, SSA employees will never threaten you for information or promise a Social Security benefit approval or increase in exchange for information. In those cases, the call is fraudulent, and you should just hang up.
If you receive a suspicious call from someone alleging to be from SSA, you should report that information to the OIG at 1-800-269-0271 or online at https://oig.ssa.gov/report.