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Has Your Social Security Number Been Suspended?

By Cathy Moran

social security scam

The latest variety of tax scam picked the wrong target when they called my fellow bankruptcy lawyer Wayne Silver.

Your social security number has been suspended, claimed the caller.

Having no identity is scary. What’s a guy to do without a Social Security number?

It’s sad that we are reduced to needing a number to validate who we are.  But without a Social Security number, an American is virtually no body.

And that’s what the scammer counted on when he called Wayne, and doubtless thousands of others.

The phone message claimed that because of “suspicious activity” on his Social Security number, it was being “suspended”.

If Wayne wanted to know more about the situation, he could call the number provided.

And the situation must be urgent, because the scammer called 5 times in 24 hours.

Social Security numbers don’t get suspended

None of what the scammer claimed was true.  Except that they wanted Wayne to call so they could GET his social security number, or scare him into sending them money directly.

Wayne is hardly your average consumer.  He’s a veteran bankruptcy attorney and white collar crime litigator.  So, he wasn’t scared.

He called me into his office to listen in and share the joke.

But lots of people are scared by these scam calls.

IRS lists latest identity scams

The IRS put out an update to its list of scams.  This supposed “suspension” of your Social Security number topped the list.

My rule of thumb is that no one who calls you claiming to be from the government is real.

The government is essentially wedded to paper.  They NEVER make first contact with an individual by phone.

Hang up, confident that your Social Security is safe, at least from someone on the phone.

More

Elders fall victim to their phone

Pay up or go to jail: another scam

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Filed Under: Consumer Rights Tagged With: 2019, scams, social security

About Cathy Moran

I'm a veteran bankruptcy lawyer and consumer advocate in California's Silicon Valley. I write, teach, and speak in the hopes of expanding understanding of how bankruptcy can make life better in a family's future.

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You’ve arrived at the Bankruptcy Soapbox, a resource of bankruptcy information and consumer law.

Soapbox is a companion site to Bankruptcy in Brief, where I try to be largely explanatory and even handed (Note I said “try”).

Here, I allow myself to tell stories and express strong opinions. We dig deeper into how to consider bankruptcy and navigate a bankruptcy case.

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