Question: I’m on Social Security disability. Does the Social Security Administration send emails to people telling them they will lose their benefits? I’ve been getting emails with official-looking emblems saying “urgent,” that we’ll lose benefits immediately if we don’t respond with our name, date of birth, marital status, address and ZIP code, plus email address, health conditions and phone numbers. The bottom says “www.socialsecuritybenefits.co.” It sounds like a company trying to get clients or something. Could you please look into this?
Answer: As you suspected, the email did not come from the Social Security Administration.
The short answer from the SSA is, “If it’s not .gov (as in ssa.gov), it’s not Social Security.”
According to its website on misleading advertising — www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10005.html — countless consumers fall victim each year to emailers who use Social Security or Medicare to lure them to pay for services, which are provided free by the Social Security Administration.
“The law that deals specifically with misleading Social Security and Medicare advertising prohibits people or nongovernment organizations, like for-profit businesses, from using words or emblems that mislead others,” said Jane Yamamoto-Burigsay, spokeswoman for the SSA in Hawaii.
Their advertising cannot lead people to believe that they represent or are “affiliated with or endorsed or approved by Social
Security or the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (Medicare),” she said. “But that doesn’t stop advertisers from trying.”
You’re advised to never reply to an email claiming to be from Social Security that asks for Social Security numbers or other personal information.
If you receive misleading pitches, send the complete mailing, including the envelope, to Office of the Inspector General, Fraud Hotline, Social Security Administration, P.O. Box 17768, Baltimore, MD 21235.
You are also advised to contact the state Office of Consumer Protection, 587-3222, or the Better Business Bureau.
We checked the website www.socialsecuritybenefits.co, which says it is “Social Security Disability/
Attorney & Advocate Services/Dedicated To Helping Disabled Americans Receive Benefits.” It has a Better Business Bureau logo that says “BBB accredited.”
But the BBB says it did not accredit the company and gives it an “F” rating.
Recycling rags
In response to a question about whether unusable clothing, etc., is recycled (is.gd/kokualine03142012), a reader suggested donating it to such places as the Hawaiian Humane Society and the Oahu SPCA.
She said both organizations accept fabrics to use as rags, so she donates old T-shirts, towels, pillowcases and sheets that aren’t in good enough condition to donate for human usage.
Both organizations say they welcome donations of those items.
To contact the SPCA, call 754-1519 or go to www.oahuspca.org; to contact the Humane Society, call 946-2187 or go to hawaiianhumane.org.
Question: When might they recycle old computers again? I understand they do it twice a year.
Answer: There used to be a semiannual computer drop-off event involving Hawaii Computers for Kids Program, CompUSA, Lenox Metals and the City and County of Honolulu.
That collaborative event ended in 2006, but there are many other ways to recycle unwanted computers and other electronic equipment.
The easiest is to check the city’s opala.org website and click on recycling, then e-waste disposal. Or, call 768-3200.
Options range from donating to local schools and organizations to regularly scheduled drop-off events to retailer take-backs.
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