Issue 11
QUARTERLY SCAM
UPDATE
OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
October 1, 2023 – December 31, 2023
Social Security-Related Scams
The Social Security Administration (SSA) and SSA
Oce of the Inspector General (OIG) continue
to receive reports of scammers impersonating
government employees or alleging a Social
Security-related problem to steal money or personal
information from victims.
Since October 2019, SSA OIG has shared
information on its eorts to combat Social
Security-related scams with the U.S. House of
Representatives Committee on Ways and Means,
Subcommittee on Social Security; U.S. Senate
Committee on Finance; and U.S. Senate Special
Committee on Aging. SSA OIG began publicly
releasing the Quarterly Scam Update in the
third quarter of Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 to provide
information about these scams and its eorts to
combat them.
This report shares information about Social
Security-related and government imposter scam
allegation trends in the rst quarter (Q1) of FY 2024
(October 1 through December 31, 2023).
Examples of SSA and SSA OIG's recent eorts
to disrupt and raise awareness of scams are
also included.
1
2
Recent Trends in SSA-related Scams Reported to SSA OIG
Figure 2
Imposter Scam Complaints Received by SSA OIG
January 2022 to December 2023
Figure 1
SSA OIG
Received
13,944
scam allegations
in Q1 FY 2023
from
Q1
FY 2023
to Q1
FY 2024
SSA OIG
Received
17,032
scam allegations
in Q1 FY 2024
22.1%
increase
While scam allegations increased 22.1 percent from Q1 FY 2023 to Q1 FY 2024, scams reported to SSA OIG
are still down signicantly from Q1 in prior years. SSA OIG received 20,756 scam allegations in Q1 FY 2022,
225,364 in Q1 FY 2021 (during the scam's peak), 156,129 in Q1 FY 2020, and 61,762 in Q1 FY 2019. SSA
OIG has received fewer than 10,000 Social Security-related scam allegations per month from January 2022
to the present.
SSA OIG receives the majority of Social Security-related scam allegations from its dedicated online scam
reporting form and its hotline. While the form states it is for those who “believe [they] have been a victim of a
Social Security Administration Scam,” the form also allows individuals to report whether the scam involved the
impersonation of ocials from federal, state, or local government agencies other than SSA.
Recent Trends in SSA-related Scams Reported to SSA OIG
Q4 FY 2023 and Q1 FY 2024 Complaint Trends – Percentage of
Total Imposter Allegations from the Scam Reporting Form
Note: The percentages were calculated based on the total number of allegations each quarter. The percentages do not add to 100 percent because
individual allegations may include more than one complaint characteristic.
3
Complaint Characteristics
Q4
7/1/23–9/30/23
Q1
10/1/23–12/31/23
The imposter mentioned a problem with your
Social Security number
40.8
%
38.2
%
The imposter mentioned a problem with your
Social Security benets
16.4
%
16.5
%
The imposter used documents or
images (such as a federal logo) when
communicating with you
25.8
%
26.8
%
The scam involved the impersonation
of ocials from federal, state, or local govern-
ment agencies other than the
Social Security Administration
37.3
%
35.3
%
The imposter mentioned a coronavirus
or COVID-19 related issue, or referred to a
coronavirus or COVID-19 stimulus check, stimu-
lus payment, or economic impact payment
2.4
%
2.5
%
None of the Above
28.5
%
30.8
%
Figure 3
Loss Frequency and Amount by Age Reported to SSA OIG
In Q4 FY 2023, slightly more individuals under 50 years of age reported nancial losses than those 50 years
of age or older. Figure 4 (below) shows that in Q1 FY 2024, slightly more individuals 50 years of age or older
reported nancial losses than those under 50 years of age. In Q1 FY 2024, 598 individuals under 50 years of age
reported losses, compared with 650 individuals 50 years of age and older.
Figure 4
Number of Reported
Payments to Imposters,
by Reported Age
10/1/2023 – 12/31/2023
Figure 5
Average Dollar Value Reported
Payments to Imposters,
by Reported Age
10/1/2023 – 12/31/2023
4
In Q4 FY 2023, individuals 50 years of age and over reported higher average losses than those under
50 years of age. Additionally, during Q4 FY 2023, the highest average losses were reported by individuals 70
to 84 years of age. Figure 5 (below) shows that in Q1 FY 2024, these trends continued.
Annually, Social Security-related scam reports have decreased signicantly since FY 2021, and according
to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), government imposter scam complaints have declined since 2021.
However, Social Security-related scams remain the top government imposter type reported to the FTC.
1
Therefore, while the decline is promising, SSA OIG and SSA continue to ght these scams.
1. This information is based on data reported to the FTC as of February 8, 2024.
Long-Term Success in Fighting SSA-related Scams
5
In Q1 FY 2024, SSA mailed 127.6 million letters to
the public with a scam message printed on the
back of envelopes (right). The Agency has mailed
more than 1 billion of these letters to date.
SSA’s latest Scam Awareness Public Service
Announcement (left), which started airing in
late October 2021, generated 2.5 million
impressions in Q1 FY 2024.
SSA's November 16, 2023 video, How to Spot a
Scam, garnered 3,707 views through the end of
Q1 FY 2024.
Long-term SSA-related Imposter Scam Allegations
April 2018 to December 2023
Figure 6
Initiatives to Combat Social Security-related Scams
6
Q1 FY 2024 Additional Internal and External Education Efforts
SSA and SSA OIG engaged in additional outreach and education eorts with members of the public, government
and non-government organizations, and SSA employees to raise awareness of scams targeting American
residents. Some examples of these eorts during Q1 FY 2024 included the activities below.
Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group
SSA and SSA OIG continue to serve on committees with the FTC and other law enforcement partners as a
result of the Stop Senior Scams Act, which established the Scams Against Older Adults Advisory Group. SSA
and SSA OIG participate on committees that meet quarterly focused on:
Expanding consumer education eorts;
Improving industry training on scam prevention;
Identifying innovative or high-tech methods to
detect and stop scams; and
Developing research on consumer or employee
engagement to reduce fraud.
SSA OIG and SSA led the discussion on Articial Intelligence at the Oce of
Management and Budget's Payment Integrity and Fraud Symposium.
SSA posted a blog titled, Stay Alert: Fraudsters Target Veterans, Active-Duty Service
Members and Their Families, that discusses how fraudsters commonly target veterans,
active-duty service members and their families, and provides instructions for reporting.
SSA posted a blog titled, New Year's Resolution to Combat Scams, that discusses
smart resolutions to protect personal information and combat fraud and scams.
SSA OIG presented on fraud and scams to employees in over a dozen SSA eld
oces in the Los Angeles, Fresno, and San Francisco, California areas.
SSA published a video titled, How to Spot a Scam on YouTube and the SSA.gov/Scam
webpage. SSA also participated in a monthly Department of Veterans Aairs meeting on
fraud and scams to share about the recently released blog and video.
SSA OIG launched an initiative to develop informational materials on avoiding being
victimized by scams using SSA as bait to be made available at public libraries.
SSA OIG met with a telecommunications trade organization about presenting
at a forthcoming conference regarding collaboration opportunities to deter
SSA-related scam calls.
SSA OIG presented to Criminal Justice students on OIG's mission, fraud
investigations, and scam ghting work at Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico.
Initiatives to Combat Social Security-related Scams
7
Q1 FY 2024 Website Page Views and Social Media Impressions
An SSA and SSA OIG joint scam page redesign resulted in an increase in page views to the scam page.
Since the launch of the redesign on May 19, 2022, there have been 3.35 million page views of the scam page
including 179,342 clicks on the Report a Social Security-related Scam button and 115,004 clicks on the Report
a Scam button. Website page views, clicks, and social media impressions for Q1 FY 2024 are below.
Page
Views
25k
Number of
page views
to SSA’s
scam FAQ
webpage
Clicks
Received
250k
Social
Impressions
14m
Number of clicks
on SSA.gov
scam
banner
Number of impressions
from SSA's paid social
media campaign
(Facebook/Instagram ads)
promoting scam
awareness.
Page
Views
887k
Number of
page views to
SSA's English
language scam
awareness
page
Page
Views
25k
Number of
page views to
SSA's Spanish
language scam
awareness
page
Enforcement and Prosecution of Government Imposter Scams
8
Consumer Protection: Telephone and Social Media Scams
Section 1140 of the Social Security Act, as amended, protects the public from advertisements, solicitations,
and other communications that convey the false impression that SSA approved, endorsed, or authorized
the communication. SSA OIG continued eorts to protect consumers from Social Security-related scam
calls originating outside of the U.S. by seeking corrective action against U.S. based telecommunications
companies, acting as gateway carriers, who prot by accepting Social Security-related scam calls into the U.S.
telecommunications system, and passing them to unsuspecting consumers. During Q1 FY 2024, SSA OIG
resolved a matter with a gateway carrier, resulting in the imposition of a $37,500 penalty. To date, SSA OIG has
imposed penalties against 24 gateway carriers for their involvement with Social Security-related scam calls.
As a result of SSA OIG's Section 1140 and other eorts, the telecommunications industry is on notice of the
potential legal ramications for their involvement with Social Security-related scam calls. Telecommunications
companies are continuing to take more proactive steps to prohibit scam calls from entering the U.S. or are
discontinuing the gateway carrier segment of their operations or operations entirely.
During Q1 FY 2024, SSA OIG launched a new initiative focused specically on domestic originating misleading
Social Security disability telephone solicitations. The purpose of these solicitations is to develop Social Security
disability representation leads for attorneys and non-attorney claimant representatives. SSA OIG has initiated
Section 1140 inquiries against several entities over concerns that their Social Security disability solicitations
convey the inference that the calls are from SSA or are otherwise authorized by SSA.
In addition to SSA OIG’s scam call eorts, SSA OIG continues to stay vigilant regarding Social Security-
related imposter social media accounts. SSA OIG recognizes the public's vulnerability to harm from social
media scams, as well as the negative impact these scams have on SSA's reputation and ability to eectively
communicate via its robust social media program. During Q1 FY 2024, SSA OIG continued its eorts
monitoring social media platforms for SSA-related imposter accounts. SSA OIG reported four SSA-related
imposter accounts, prompting the expedient take down of the identied fraudulent accounts by the social media
platform. SSA OIG continues to review each matter for potential civil monetary penalty action.
OIG.SSA.GOV
