How quickly can you identify a scam? It seems they are everywhere these days. Suspect calls from “your bank,” or emails promising things too good to be true. Spoiler: It is!

Scams can appear in many places. Late last year we reported on warnings from the County’s Division and Health and Human Services of individuals setting up shop in a few different places offering free tablets, but asking for sensitive information in the process.

It’s truly a shame that there are people looking to take advantage of our most vulnerable residents.

This week is what the Social Security Administration (SSA) calls National Consumer Protection Week. Furthermore, this Thursday has been designated as National “Slam the Scam” Day. The SSA started it as an outreach campaign to raise public awareness of Social Security scams and other government imposter scams.

According to the SSA, in 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received over 191,000 complaints of government imposter scams. Of those, they say 14.6 percent said they lost money to a scammer - a total of $508.96 million.

It’s important to exercise caution when receiving calls or messages from someone claiming to be from a government agency, the SSA reports.

Basic signs of a scam are them pretending to be an agency or organization you know to gain your trust, saying there is a problem or a prize, pressure to act immediately or telling you that you have to pay in a particular way.

The SSA adds that they’d never threaten arrest or legal action if someone does not immediately send money to resolve an overpayment; Promise to increase benefits or resolve identity theft issues for a fee or by moving money into a protected account; Require payment with a retail gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, internet currency, or by mailing cash; and send text, email, or social media messages that contain personal information.

For more info on how to report Social Security scams, visit the SSA’s scam awareness and social media resources webpages.

If we all do our part to stop this from happening, we can protect others from having to deal with the stress and possible financial losses that come from being scammed!