BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU 

News release

LEXINGTON — A Scott County senior citizen has reported receiving a phone call threatening his Social Security benefits if he did not call the number provided to resolve “suspicious activities” on his account. The Better Business Bureau serving central Kentucky is warning the public to beware of this newest phone scam.

The man, who lives in Georgetown, called the number back and was prompted to enter a Social Security number to continue. He hung up at that point. 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 …”

“This appears to be the latest version of ‘robocall’ scams impersonating government agencies in order to persuade citizens to give personal information or money to the scammer,” said Heather Clary, BBB’s director of communications. “In this case, we fear that senior citizens who may receive this call will panic and call the number back to provide whatever information the con artist requests.”

The Georgetown 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 a citizen.

Consumers may report scams to BBB Scam Tracker at www.bbb.org/scamtracker.