The Social Security Administration is sounding the alarm about an increase in reported fraud attempts, with figures showing an increase during the pandemic.
“I’m deeply concerned that crooks are still misleading Americans,” Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul said in a call to reporters on Wednesday. “Our programs require the public to communicate with us, and we cannot afford fraud to affect communication or the public’s trust in us.”
The agency received more than 718,000 reports of telephone fraud in the fiscal year ended September 30, totaling nearly $ 45 million in losses. This is higher than 478 000 in the previous year.
Fraudulent calls during the pandemic, when millions of Americans were tied up at home, ranged from less than 6,000 in April to more than 100,000 in September.
Since October 1, there have been more than 300,000 reports of scams, more than 60 percent more for the entire fiscal 2019.
According to Saul, the most common scams are involving callers who claim to represent credit card companies, businesses and the Social Security Administration, in an attempt to steal the person’s information and money. Social security, he added, has been the most common type of fraud reported by the agency and the Federal Trade Commission in recent years.
“The isolation and the fear are really important elements of this,” said Gail Ennis, inspector general of the agency.