For years I've been telling my clients that those phone calls from the IRS are scams. The IRS does not call people. And you should never give out your information over the phone.
Well now the scammers have moved to Social Security. There is an increase in scam calls, claiming they are from the Social Security Administration. They sound official making claims that due to fraudulent activity your Social Security number is being suspended. What they are trying to do, is get you to let your guard down, so you will give them some of your personal information.
Let me be really clear. Your Social Security number is NEVER suspended. This is not something the administration does, and they will never make phone calls to people. Most of the time communications come from official postal mail.
But you may have gotten an email from the administration and that is probably real. If you have gone to SSA.gov and created a profile to check your Social Security benefits, then you entered your email address. The SSA will email you to remind you to log into your profile and check that your earning record is correct. (If you didn't know, your benefits are based on your earnings over a 35-year period). It's always good to check and make sure that the annual income matches up with what your filed on your tax return. While the SSA gets their data from the IRS, you never know when an error is made. So, no reason to cheat yourself out of some benefits.
You should also note that passwords on SSA.gov will expire after 6 months, so be prepared to re-verify your identity and reset your password.
Your estimated benefit report can be downloaded once you are on the site and I highly recommend you review it with your financial advisor, so you can plan your retirement income.
Your Smart Money Move is to hang up the phone if the caller says they are from the IRS or Social Security Administration.
If you would like to receive more information on making smart money moves for your future, be sure to contact us today!
