Unfortunately, the elderly and other individuals often approaching the estate planning process as they near retirement are very vulnerable to fraudulent schemes. The newest Social Security scam targets seniors.

They may reach out to you over the phone and impersonate an agent of the Social Security Administration by explaining that costs of living increases will be added to their monthly benefits, requiring the exchange of personal information. In many cases these fraudulent scam artists will take the senior’s social security number, parents’ names, and birth dates.

This can provide just enough information for an identity thief to alter direct deposit instructions or redirect benefits checks to an address or an account established by the scam artist. It is not currently known how many of these scam artists are already engaged in this behavior but a number of different reports filed with federal government agencies have targeted this as a serious problem.

Another common scheme involving social security benefits includes recorded phone messages that are sent out to countless seniors stating that there is a problem with their social security benefit checks. A telephone number is then provided to the person receiving the call so that they can contact SSA about the problem and many people have a vested interest in addressing this issue right away.

When the number is called back, a recorded message says that a warrant has been issued for their arrest because they were overpaid by the government. The threat of arrest covered with the inability to reach a real human being to sort out this problem makes it especially troublesome for elderly individuals who are already targets for financial fraud. Taking the necessary planning steps to articulate your wishes and ensuring that anyone who contacts you is a truly authorized government agent are some ways to avoid the major consequences of fraud.

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