Overview
- Social Security’s Office of Inspector General, which issued a public alert Monday, reports a sharp rise in emails posing as SSA messages about ready-to-download benefit statements.
- The fake emails copy official logos and colors and sometimes misuse the names and photos of real SSA employees to look legitimate.
- Links and attachments in these messages can install malware or send people to look‑alike websites that steal logins, Social Security numbers, and bank details.
- Red flags include sender addresses that do not end in .gov, urgent demands to act or pay, unsolicited attachments, or any request for payment by gift cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, cash, or gold.
- Officials urge people to delete the emails, visit ssa.gov/myaccount by typing it in, and report incidents to the SSA OIG, the FBI’s IC3, and the FTC, then contact their bank and local police if money was lost.