Question: I called Social Security and was on hold for a long time and finally hung up without speaking to anyone, but then about a week later I got an email about my benefit statement. That is not what I was calling about. The email looks official but I am not sure.
Answer: The realistic-looking notice you received is a scam — don’t click on the link telling you to download your purported benefit statement or respond in any other way. Your unanswered phone call to Social Security and the scam email you received are not related — except in the sense that criminals are exploiting upheaval at the Social Security Administration with an onslaught of fraudulent emails, phone calls, texts and even mailed letters trying to steal people’s money, identity or personal information.
Consumer advocates had warned this would happen when the Trump administration cut thousands of jobs from SSA while also announcing swift and sometimes flip- flopping policy changes that left many Americans worried about their earned retirement benefits. Calls to Social Security spiked, hold times got longer and many people simply hung up without getting the answers they needed — leaving them susceptible to scammers impersonating the agency.
Social Security doesn’t respond to unanswered calls except when the caller opts to leave their number and be called back later. Anyone who simply disconnects from the hold queue would need to call back themselves.
Most of the scam attempts we’ve heard about falsely offer information or access that Americans are commonly seeking from SSA now, such as in-person appointments or benefit statements. This is a common tactic of cybercriminals, who follow current events.
The email you and others received is so realistic- looking that SSA’s Office of Inspector General issued an alert about it on April 1, which you can read at 808ne.ws/4jsGrwE. Although the fake notice mimics the appearance and tone of SSA notifications, the sender’s email address doesn’t end in .gov, as an official federal government email address should. Some scam attempts reportedly come from an @ssa.gov.com address, which is deceptively close but not from SSA because it ends with .com instead of .gov.
As the OIG warns, “this email is an attempt to lure individuals to fraudulent sites that are not associated with SSA. … Government agencies end with “.gov” as part of their official email address. The email states that your Social Security statement is available for download. DO NOT CLICK THE LINK. These emails are not from SSA and will compromise your personal data and likely damage your computer system once you allow access.”
Anyone who receives this scam email or other fraud attempts involving Social Security can report them to the OIG at secure.ssa.gov/oig/scam.
Read more about impersonation scams at ssa.gov/scam, which warns that criminals are increasingly using artificial intelligence to trick people.
Auwe
I have a PO box at the Downtown post office. There are about 700 PO boxes there but the parking lot that’s in front is always full. Cars park there without people putting money in the meters, and it doesn’t seem like the police tag them at all. I’ve never seen anybody ticketing there. When I drive to work in the morning I want to stop and pick up my mail but there’s never any parking. Sometimes I have to wait an hour and a half for somebody to leave. I think some people are treating it like free parking to go visit the palace grounds, or see the statue or other site — they don’t feed the meter. I wish the police would ticket the expired meters, at least from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and then maybe people wouldn’t park illegally and I could pick up my mail! — A reader
Mahalo
I want to thank kindhearted people who volunteer to drive kupuna to church on Sundays. My mother relied on these helpers for many years and I know others did too. I would take her to church when I could but then I had to work most Sundays and I couldn’t do it as often. This was a while ago and my mom has passed away but I know there are volunteers who still help others in this way and they are a blessing. Happy Easter! — Mahalo, a reader
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 2-200, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
