Scammers have infiltrated a Social Security Administration building in New York, imperiling your personal information.
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“We need to let you know you have been selected for $100 in rewards.”
It was a cheery automated message, not what I expected when I called the number for the Social Security Administration’s primary office in Manhattan. The message went on: “Simply press 1 now to be connected to a live agent and claim your gift today.”
I double-checked the number, which a Social Security employee had just given me at the agency’s local office in Harlem in late February. I needed to replace a lost card, which was a service only offered at certain locations, the agent told me. He slid me a flyer and circled the contact information for the office in the Financial District in Manhattan.
“You can call this number to try making an appointment,” the agent told me.
“There are a ton of scams that use government agencies. But nothing like this.”
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Still sitting in the lobby of the Harlem building, I dialed the number a couple more times, and each time reached a different grifter: I was eligible for another $100 gift card to Walmart, then help getting “free insurance.” I just had to hand over my name and address, to “confirm you’re eligible,” one scammer said. These are prototypical phone scam scripts.
In a recent experimental study, researchers posing as employees of a fictious government agency convinced more than 16 percent of older adult participants to hand over personal information, including their Social Security numbers. In another experiment, with college students, more than a third of participants gave out personally identifying information to scammers.
Shawn Musgrave is a media law attorney and reporter based in New York. As counsel to The Intercept, Shawn brings considerable experience in government transparency, including the federal Freedom of Information Act, state public records laws, and court access. Prior to joining The Intercept, Shawn worked at the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, the Center for Investigative Reporting, and MuckRock. His reporting has been published in Politico, The Verge, Vice, Reason, and the Boston Globe, among other outlets.
