Is that SSA on the line?

It's Military Consumer Month! Did you know that scammers call and pretend to be from the Social Security Administration (SSA)? They say your Social Security number (SSN) has been suspended because of suspicious activity or it being involved in a crime. The FTC’s latest Data Spotlight finds that reports about SSA imposters are surging. People told us they lost $19 million to SSA imposters in the past year.

Here's what to know:

• Your SSN is not about to be suspended. You shouldn’t verify your number to anyone who calls out of the blue. And your bank accounts are not about to be seized.
• SSA will never call to threaten your benefits or tell you to wire money, send cash, or put money on gift cards. Anyone who tells you to do those things is a scammer. Every time.
• The real SSA number is 1-800-772-1213, but scammers can make that number appear in the caller ID. If you’re worried about what the caller says, hang up and call 1-800-772-1213 to speak to the real SSA. Even if the wait time is long, confirm with the real SSA before talking to these callers.
• Never give any part of your SSN – or your bank account or credit card number – to anyone who contacts you.

To report this scam, go to ftc.gov/complaint. If you already gave one of these callers your SSN and you're worried about identity theft, visit IdentityTheft.gov/ssa.