Social Security scam calls on the rise in Santa Barbara County

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says they have received a growing number of reports of scam phone calls throughout the county.

Sheriff’s officials say the most common scam involves con-artists posing as employees of the Social Security Administration.

The call usually begins as a recorded phone call that states the victim’s social security number has been suspended and they will lose all of their benefits. The call will prompt the person who answers the call to hit a button to be connected with a real person. When connected, the scammer claims that the victim’s social security number has been compromised and connected with criminal activity (in one instance, a victim was told that her social security number was found in a car in Texas, along with some drugs and bloodstains).

The caller claims the victim’s bank account is in danger and that the victim needs to go to the bank and remove money and put it into gift cards.

The scammer will often make claims that the victim’s social security number could be seized and their bank accounts compromised. Sometimes the scammer will provide a name and badge number in an attempt to appear legitimate.

Earlier this week a Santa Barbara County resident lost $11,000 due to this scam.

Some tips to avoid being scammed include:

The Social Security Administration will never call to threaten your benefits or tell you to wire money, send cash or put money on gift cards. You do not have to verify your social security number to anyone who initiates a call with you. Never give any part of your social security number, bank account information or credit card number to anyone who contacts you.

You should only give personal identifying information if you initiate a call first and after you have verified the phone number.

The real phone number for the Social Security Administration is 800-772-1213.

It’s also important to know that a scammer can duplicate the actual phone number of the Social Security Administration. If you are worried the call may be a scam you should hang up immediately.

Other scams include a call posing as a Sheriff’s deputy and telling the victim that there is a bench warrant out for their arrest.

If you receive any call that asks for money or identifying information, you should immediately hang up and call the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office does not call residents over the phone to notify them of a warrant and they do not take any payments over the phone.

To report phone scams, call the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or visit their website.