This is a scam alert.
I was at my desk the other day and missed a phone call. Thinking it may have been a potential interview subject for an article, I played the voicemail and got the shock of my life. “We’re calling to alert you that we’re prepared to take legal action against you because of suspicious activity on your social security number.” I played it three different times because I’d noticed they never actually said WHO was taking legal action against me. My cynical journalist radar was up and running.
lot lately. Keep an eye out for scammers. I took a scam phone call the other day and included the audio at the end of the blog post. Don’t give out personal information if you didn’t initiate the phone call.
I also should have known that something was up when the first three numbers of the “800 number” was 855. That’s an out-of-country 800 number, i would find out later. Anyway, I make the call because now I’m flat-out curious. The guy who answered the phone informed me that he was with the “Social Security Administration” and even tried to pass on his “badge number.” At this point, I know I’m being scammed because in all my years in the media, one thing that’s stuck in this old brain was the fact that the Social Security Administration will NEVER call you about a problem. EVER. They always reach out and correspond through the mail.
Anyway, back to the story. In VERY broken English, the guy says there’s legal action pending against me because of suspicious activity on my SSN. He confirms my name and that I am who I say I am. THEN, he asks me to confirm my social security number over the phone, which is a big faux pas when dealing with someone who actually knows better.
I thought just for fun I’d put the audio of the phone call up here for you to listen to. I had played it for a couple family members, including my wife Monique. She looks at me after the recording was done and said “I can’t believe how patient you were during that phone call.” Hey, I was having fun!
However, all giggling aside, a scam phone call is a very serious matter. If you didn’t initiate the phone call, under NO circumstances should you give our personal information. EVER.
The last thing I need you to remember is to call your local law enforcement and report the number the scammer used to call you. It really does help because law enforcement will put out the information to the public as a number to avoid.
Here’s some recommendations on how to deal with scam phone calls.