WASHINGTON, D.C. — Machel Andersen was babysitting her grandchildren when she noticed a disturbing voicemails from someone who appeared to be from the Social Security Administration. The caller said that her Social Security number had been compromised and a vehicle registered in her name was found at a crime scene. Moreover, she was told that her Social Security number had been used to set up bank accounts linked to a drug cartel.
At a Senate Aging Committee hearing led by U.S. Senators Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bob Casey, D-Pennsylvania, on the Social Security scam Jan. 29, Andersen explained how the purported SSA official handed her over to a fake DEA investigator who exploited her fear and distress over this information. He instructed her to wire all of her available assets — amounting to more than $150,000 — to an offshore account that would supposedly be protected while action was taken against the drug cartel. She was warned that if she did not cooperate, she would be assumed to be conspiring with the drug cartel and arrested. Over the course of several days, the scammer continued to manipulate Andersen with a variety of threats and official-looking documents.
After Andersen sent $150,000, the con artist told her she needed to mortgage her home and pay him 45 percent of her home’s value. She was on the verge of borrowing $60,000 from a friend when she decided to verify the scammer’s story online. At that point, she realized that she was the victim of a scam.
Andersen is one of the hundreds of thousands of Americans who have reported being affected by the Social Security scam, a number that has grown at an alarming rate. In 2019 alone, Americans reported losing close to $38 million to this scam, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Recently, the scam has skyrocketed to become the most-reported fraud to the FTC and the Aging Committee’s Fraud Hotline (1 -855-303-9470). Since creating an online form less than three months ago, the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General has received more than 115,000 complaints about the scam.
Government agencies will not call you and demand money. If someone does, the best defense is to hang up the phone, the Social Security Administration says. For more information, or if you believe you have been a victim of an IRS or SSA scam, visit oig.ssa.gov/scam. Or call the Aging Committee’s Fraud Hotlline 1-855-303-9470.
