The Better Business Bureau serving Nebraska, South Dakota, The Kansas Plains and Southwest Iowa is warning the public to beware of a new phone scam. Senior citizens, from across the country, have reported receiving phone calls threatening their Social Security benefits if they did not call the number provided by the caller to resolve “suspicious activities” on their accounts.  When one man called the number back, he was prompted to enter his Social Security number in order to continue. Luckily, at that point, he hung up. He gave the BBB the phone number he was told to call. A search on the Internet matched a page on the Nomorobo.com website that contained an example of the same message he received:

“HELLO we have been trying to reach you this call is officially a final notice from S.S.A. Social Security Administration this call is to inform you that we have got an order to suspend your socials on immediate basis because we have found suspicious and fraudulent activities on your social to get more information about this case file please call immediately on our department number 203-896-0995 I repeat 203-896-0995 thank you “   (hear message at this link: https://bit.ly/2LOulPk)

“This appears to be the latest version of ‘robocall’ scams impersonating government agencies in order to persuade people to give personal information or money to the scammer,” said BBB President Jim Hegarty. “In this case, we fear that seniors who receive this call will panic, call the number back and provide whatever information the con artist requests.” This senior did call the Social Security Administration, which assured him the call did not come from their office. BBB reminds the public that government agencies DO NOT call unsolicited; rather, they send letters if they need to contact you.

This is the just the latest version of a scam which tries to scare people into giving away personal information. BBB has tips to help you avoid debt collection, identity theft, and spoofing scams. Consumers may report scams to BBB Scam Tracker at www.bbb.org/scamtracker