There's been a surge in conversation around Social Security scams in recent weeks. In early April, the Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) issued a warning on Facebook urging people to never share their Social Security numbers with unknown callers. At the same time, interest in the topic has spiked — "social security scams" has been searched more than 550,000 times in the past month, marking its first major surge in the last year.
This follows a wave of scam emails reported in late February, where fraudsters were impersonating the SSA. The messages claimed to provide access to recipients' Social Security statements, and officials warned at the time that clicking the links could lead to identity theft, financial loss or compromised personal data.
At CNBC Select, we're always looking for ways to help you protect and grow your money. With scams on the rise, now is a good time to consider signing up for an identity protection service to help safeguard your personal information.
Offers in this section are from affiliate partners and selected based on a combination of engagement, product relevance, compensation, and consistent availability.
Plans from $10 to $32 per month, billed annually
Protects against identity theft, fraud, spam calls and websites, viruses and malware. Offers three-credit-bureau monitoring, VPN, dark web monitoring, password manager, email aliases and instant credit lock.
On Aura's site
From $7.50 to $25.00 per month, billed annually on individual plans and $12.50 to $33.33 per month, billed annually on family plans
Up to $1 million in insurance for eligible losses from identity theft
On Identity Guard's site
Red flags to watch out for
There are a handful of warnings signs to watch out for when determining whether an email impersonating the SSA is actually a scam. In this case, receiving an email from an email address that doesn't end in ".gov" but claims it's from the SSA is a red flag. Also, emails that create urgency to take an action immediately are warning signs.
Other red flags listed by the SSA involve messages claiming your Social Security statement is ready to download, along with embedded links or attachments labeled as statements.
More generally, other red flags can include misspellings in agency or company names, as well as an email address not matching the organization it claims to be from. Also be wary of what you're being instructed to do. Are you being asked to provide your Social Security number, credit card number or some other super personal information? Chances are, it's a scam.
According to the SSA website, if you have a personal my Social Security account, the agency will send an email once per year — usually three months before your birthday — reminding you to check your Social Security statement online. The agency will not contact you by phone for business purposes.
How to protect yourself from a scam
Falling victim to a scam is distressing, especially because your personal information can be used to steal your identity, drain your bank account and, ultimately, compromise your financial health.
Here's what you can do to protect your Social Security number from scammers:
Use an identity protection service
Many identity protection services offer features that scan the dark web for your information, as well as protect you against spam calls, viruses and malware. A good service can give you peace of mind and alert you when something is wrong so you can take immediate action to secure your information.
IdentityForce has plans that come with dark web scanning and up to $1 million in identity theft insurance. It provides credit monitoring for all three bureaus and a family plan.
IdentityForce®
Cost
UltraSecure Individual: $19.90 per month or $199.90 per year; UltraSecure+Credit Individual: $34.90 per month or $349.90 per year; UltraSecure Family: $24.90 per month or $249.90 per year; UltraSecure+Credit Family: $39.90 per month or $399.90 per year
Credit bureaus monitored
3-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion®, with UltraSecure+Credit Individual and UltraSecure+Credit Family plans only
Credit scoring model used
VantageScore® 3.0, with UltraSecure+Credit Individual and UltraSecure+Credit Family plans only
Dark web scan
Yes, with all plans
Identity theft insurance
Yes, at least $1 million with all plans
Terms apply.
Pros
- 3-bureau credit monitoring, alerts and reports
- Free VantageScore® 3.0
- Dark web scanning
- Minimum $1 million identity theft insurance coverage
- Offers family plan
Cons
- Plans start at about $20 per month
- Doesn't look at FICO® Score
- Credit monitoring, alerts and reports perks require UltraSecure+Credit plan
Identity Guard plans include $1 million in identity theft insurance, plus users get data breach notifications and monitoring of high-risk transactions, bank accounts and social media. With certain plans, you can also access three-bureau credit monitoring and your monthly credit score.
Identity Guard
Cost
From $7.50 to $25.00 per month, billed annually on individual plans and $12.50 to $33.33 per month, billed annually on family plans
Identity theft insurance
Up to $1 million in insurance for eligible losses from identity theft
Credit monitoring
The Total and Ultra plans monitor your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion credit reports; the Value plan doesn't offer credit monitoring.
Mobile app
Yes
Family plan
Yes
Terms apply.
Pros
- Option to choose from three plans: Value, Total and Ultra
- All plans provide identity theft insurance up to $1 million
- Variety of privacy tools that help reduce telemarketing calls, junk mail and more (free with annual plans)
Cons
- No credit monitoring with Value plan
Aura has a family plan that's available for up to five adults and an unlimited number of kids. Parents can protect their entire family with benefits like alert sharing, parental controls and cyberbullying alerts for video games. Aura also offers a 14-day free trial and has a fraud resolution team when something goes wrong.
Aura
Cost
Kids: $13 per month or $10 per month billed annually; Individual: $15 per month or $12 per month billed annually; Couple: $29 per month or $22 per month billed annually; Family: $50 per month or $32 per month billed annually
Standout features
Protects against identity theft, fraud, spam calls and websites, viruses and malware. Offers three credit bureau monitoring, VPN, dark web monitoring, password manager, email aliases and instant credit lock.
Identity theft insurance
All plans include at least $1 million and white-glove fraud remediation
Terms apply.
Pros
- 14-day free trial
- Family plan includes up to 5 adults and an unlimited number of kids
- Discount if you buy an annual plan
- Up to $1 million to cover losses or expenses related to identity theft
Cons
- Doesn't monitor social media accounts
- Annual plans can only be canceled in the first 60 days for a money-back guarantee
Freeze your credit
If you don't plan on applying for new lines of credit, you can freeze your credit. This way, if scammers try to open up lines of credit in your name, lenders won't be able to approve it without credit report access.
To freeze your credit, you'll need to reach out to all three credit bureaus:
- Equifax: Go to the Equifax consumer services center or call 888-378-4329.
- TransUnion: Go to TransUnion's website or call 800-916-8800.
- Experian: Contact Experian's security freeze center or call 888-397-3742.
Never click on suspicious links
Some scams prompt you to click on a link that takes you to a fake website to gather your personal information or unintentionally download malware onto your computer. Instead of clicking on the link, you can hover your mouse over the link so you can see if the link takes you to a legitimate domain.
Verify the situation
If you get a text, email or phone call (even from organizations you frequent regularly, like your bank), reach out directly to the respective customer service team to verify the details of the email or text. Let them know what you received and ask if their team legitimately reached out.
Money matters — so make the most of it. Get expert tips, strategies, news and everything else you need to maximize your money, right to your inbox. Sign up here.
Why trust CNBC Select?
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every financial scam article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of identity protection and credit monitoring products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of credit cards, banking and money, and follow us on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to stay up to date.
