AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton is warning Texans to beware of calls from scammers pretending to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA).
These scammers are attempting to trick people into giving them their Social Security numbers and money.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently received a large number of complaints from consumers who were targeted by this scam. The scammers tell people that their Social Security number has been used in a crime, and they must pay to reactivate it or get a new number. They are asked to give out their number in the process.
Other times, people are told their bank accounts have been seized and they should transfer their money to the caller for safe keeping, or that they could lose their Social Security benefits because their number was used to apply for credit cards.
AG Paxton's Consumer Protection Division reminds consumers that the SSA will never call and ask for your Social Security number or money and will never threaten your benefits.
The FTC offers the following tips:
- Never give your Social Security, bank account or credit card numbers out to anyone who calls you and don't confirm the last four digits of your Social Security number.
- Anyone who calls you and tells you to send cash, wire money or pay with a gift card is a scammer.
- Don't be fooled if your caller ID shows the real SSA phone number (1-800-772-1213). Scammers could be spoofing your caller ID.