Social Security Scams

What Are Social Security-Related Scams?

Criminals continue to impersonate SSA and other government agencies in an attempt to obtain personal information or money.

Scammers might call, email, text, write, or message you on social media claiming to be from the Social Security Administration or the Office of the Inspector General. They might use the name of a person who really works there and might send a picture or attachment as “proof.”


Four Basic Signs of a Scam

Recognizing the signs of a scam gives you the power to ignore criminals and report the scam.

Scams come in many varieties, but they all work the same way:

  1. Scammers pretend to be from an agency or organization you know to gain your trust.
  2. Scammers say there is a problem or a prize.
  3. Scammers pressure you to act immediately.
  4. Scammers tell you to pay in a specific way.

Known Tactics Scammers Use

Scammers frequently change their approach with new tactics and messages to trick people. We encourage you to stay up to date on the latest news and advisories by following SSA OIG on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook or subscribing to receive email alerts.

These are red flags; you can trust that Social Security will never

  • Threaten you with arrest or legal action because you don’t agree to pay money immediately.
  • Suspend your Social Security number.
  • Claim to need personal information or payment to activate a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) or other benefit increase.
  • Pressure you to take immediate action, including sharing personal information.
  • Ask you to pay with gift cards, prepaid debit cards, wire transfers, cryptocurrency, or by mailing cash.
  • Threaten to seize your bank account.
  • Offer to move your money to a “protected” bank account.
  • Demand secrecy.
  • Direct message you on social media.

Be skeptical and look for red flags. If you receive a suspicious call, text message, email, letter, or message on social media, the caller or sender may not be who they say they are. Scammers have also been known to:

  • Use legitimate names of Office of Inspector General or Social Security Administration employees.
  • “Spoof” official government phone numbers, or even numbers for local police departments.
  • Send official-looking documents by U.S. mail or attachments through email, text, or social media message.

Fraudsters create imposter social media pages and accounts using Social Security-related images and jargon. This helps them appear as if they’re associated with or endorsed by Social Security. The imposter pages could be for the agency or Social Security and OIG officials. The user is asked to send their financial information, Social Security number, or other sensitive information. Social Security will never ask for sensitive information through social media as these channels are not secure.

Here are some ways to spot an imposter page:

  • Number of followers.
  • Incorrect punctuation or spelling.
  • Links to pages not on ssa.gov.
  • Advertisements for forms or other SSA documents.
  • Incorrect social media handle. To view the list of Social Security’s official social media channels, we encourage you to visit www.ssa.gov/socialmedia

It is illegal to reproduce federal employee credentials and federal law enforcement badges. Federal law enforcement will never send photographs of credentials or badges to demand any kind of payment, and neither will federal government employees.

Report the scam.

Note—Scammers are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an additional tactic to trick people. You may find more information regarding AI Scams from the Senate Special Committee on Aging’s brochure, “Emerging Threat: Artificial Intelligence”.


How to Avoid a Scam

Protect yourself, friends, and family — If you receive a suspicious call, text, email, social media message, or letter from someone claiming to be from Social Security:

  1. Remain calm. If you receive a communication that causes a strong emotional response, take a deep breath. Talk to someone you trust.
  2. Hang up or ignore the message. Do not click on links or attachments.
  3. Protect your money. Scammers will insist that you pay with a gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, money transfer, or by mailing cash. Scammers use these forms of payment because they are hard to trace.
  4. Protect your personal information. Be cautious of any contact claiming to be from a government agency or law enforcement telling you about a problem you don’t recognize, even if the caller has some of your personal information.
  5. Spread the word to protect your community from scammers.
  6. Report the scam to the Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report.

How to Report

When you report a scam, you are providing us with powerful data that we use to inform others, identify trends, refine strategies, and take legal action against the criminals behind these scam activities.

Report a scam

If you are unsure about the type of scam, but want to report it, visit USA.gov’s Where To Report a Scam. The tool will help you to find the right place to report a scam.


What to Do if You Were Scammed

Recovering from a scam can be a long and difficult process. Here are some reminders:

The Federal Trade Commission’s “What To Do if You Were Scammed” article has information about what to do if you paid someone you think is a scammer or gave a scammer your personal information or access to your computer or phone.

Additionally, the Federal Trade Commission provides assistance in multiple languages. The Federal Trade Commission’s “New Help for Spotting, Avoiding, and Reporting Scams in Multiple Language” and “Consumer Education in Multiple Languages” has information about reporting and avoiding scams in your preferred language.

Reprinted from the Social Security Administration and its Office of the Inspector General.

Cupid’s Connection to Crypto

Online romance scams have been wreaking havoc for years. In a sinister twist, criminal enterprises are playing the long game with targets to compound their losses by engaging them in crypto-investment schemes. The way it starts out? An errant text. And the people sending these texts? They are enslaved and being forced to do it.
How It Works•
You receive a text you think was sent in error—maybe it’s a pet owner trying to reach the vet, or it’s a text asking if you’re still on for dinner that night.•Being polite, you respond to let the sender know their text didn’t make it to the intended recipient.•This is all it takes for an “errant” text to begin a conversation that sparks a friendship or love interest, that becomes a trusted relationship, which opens the door for “learning” how to invest in cryptocurrency.
What You Should Know•
Romance scams have become one of the top drivers of cryptocurrency fraud. The Federal Trade Commission pegs reported losses at $1.3 billion in 2022.•Behind this fraud are transnational criminal enterprises who are luring front line “workers” with fake employment offers and enslaving them to ensnare targets into this scheme.•While the errant text is the latest mode, this scheme still plays out on the traditional channels of social media and dating sites and apps.
What You Should Do•
If you get a text like this, or any suspicious text, report it to the industry. On an iPhone, click Report Message and select Fraud. A similar option is coming soon to Android devices. This allows service providers to update their protective algorithms in real time to block the numbers.•Another way to report is to forward the message to 7726. It’s not a straightforward process; learn how to master it here.•Sadly, dangers lurk behind all forms of communications as fraud grows unabated. Don’t engage with errant texts or friend requests when you don’t know the person already. Don’t click on links in email or text messages. If an authority, a retailer, your utility company, or your bank are calling, texting, or emailing, don’t respond. Find the number (paper statement, back of your credit card, etc., but don’t Google it) and initiate a call if you think there may be an issue.•By reading this, you now have the power to protect yourself from this insidious scheme. Share what you know to help protect others.
 Reprinted from AARP Fraud Watch Network

AARP Tax Help

AARP Tax Aide volunteers will be available by appointment on Wednesdays, from Feb. 10 to April 12, 2024 to do your taxes in the Begin Family Community Room at the Carrabassett Valley Public Library & Community Center! Taxes are prepared and electronically filed by IRS-certified Volunteer Tax preparers.To make an appointment for free income tax preparation for Federal and State Returns call (978) 500-4329

Utility Scams Heat Up During Cold Weather

Criminal impostors take on many faces, including those of utility companies.
 
While utility scams happen year-round, criminals are especially active when customers rely on these services to stay safe and warm during colder months.
 
Anyone who pays a utility bill can be a target, so here are some things to look for.
How It Works•
You get an unexpected visit, call, text, or email from someone claiming to be your power or water company.•They may offer a free energy audit or assistance signing up for government programs to reduce energy bills.•Or they threaten to cut off service unless you pay an overdue bill or maintenance cost immediately.
What You Should Know•
Utility impostors aim to convince you to make a payment to them or to supply personal or financial data that they can use to steal or sell your identity. They may open new accounts and run up charges in your name.•Legitimate utility companies don’t request personal information by email or phone, and they provide advance warning before disconnecting services.•If anyone ever tells you to pay a bill by purchasing gift cards and sharing the numbers off the back, or to go to a bitcoin ATM to send payment that way, it is a scam.
What You Should Do•
It is a sad state of affairs to say not to answer your door when someone unexpectedly knocks and not to trust email messages, text messages, or phone calls, but this is the world we are in.•If a message by any channel immediately puts you into a heightened emotional state, say fear or panic, let that be your sign to disengage.•Contact your utility company at a number you know to be correct from a paper bill, through an online portal you have login credentials for, or by going directly to the utility’s website. (Don’t do a web search; the results often contain ads bought by criminals to direct customer service calls to them.)•If you or a loved one have experienced a utility scam, report it to your actual utility company and to law enforcement. You can also share the information with the Federal Trade Commission online or by calling 877‍-‍382‍-‍4357.
 Reprinted from AARP Fraud Watch Network.

Home based job? or Home based Scam?

If your New Year’s resolutions include finding a new job, you may be looking for ways to make money working from home. However, not all work-from-home opportunities are what they seem.
 
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 95,000 consumer complaints about consumer sham job and business opportunities in 2022, making them one of the Top 10 frauds reported.
How It Works•
You see an online or print ad that offers a work-from-home opportunity doing something like processing paperwork, stuffing envelopes or data entry work.•The ad may promise high pay and require little or no special skills or experience.•You may be asked to pay up front for training and other materials or you may receive a check to “cover” these expenses.
What You Should Know•
Criminals advertise jobs the same way honest employers do—on trusted websites and newspapers—and often pretend to be both well-known and smaller companies.•The listings can include fake testimonials and bogus personal stories of people making thousands or more through this opportunity.•They promise you a job, but what they want is your money and your personal information.•Honest employers, including the federal government, will never ask you to pay to get a job.
What You Should Do•
Do an online search using the company’s name plus the words “scam,” “review” or “complaint” to see what other people are saying.•Check out the company with your state consumer protection agency, the Better Business Bureau in your community and the area where the company is located.•Don’t provide any personal details until you’re certain a job offer is legitimate.•Ask lots of questions before accepting any work-from-home job offer—including how and when you’ll be paid, whether it’s a salary or commission-based payment and if there are up-front costs.•If you have experienced financial loss or identity fraud through a work-at-home job scam, report it to law enforcement. You can also share the information with the FTC online or by cal‍ling 877-‍382-‍4357.
 Reprinted from AARP Fraud Watch Network.

6 Top Scams to Watch Out for in 2024

hand holding hot frying pan with a personal check inside of it cooking and steam rising from it

One reason that scammers are so difficult to stop, security experts say, is that they keep raising their game. They’re continually perfecting their scams, taking advantage of tech innovations and honing their methods to better manipulate their targets.

“We keep coming up with different tools to combat scams and fraud, but it’s just like playing whack-a-mole,” says Better Business Bureau spokesman Josh Planos.

Scammers have become much more adept at impersonating legitimate institutions, including creating websites and messages that are “carbon copies” of legitimate health care providers, businesses and banks, with fewer grammatical mistakes and other red flags for scams, according to Planos.

And criminals are not only taking advantage of technological innovations such as artificial intelligence (AI), they’re also growing ever more adept at psychological manipulations — their “game of persuasion,” says Aaron Foss, former chief executive and founder of Nomorobo, a firm whose technology aims to thwart robocalls. Foss explains that today’s scammers in overseas call centers, for example, are often trained to minimize their accents and coached on ways to connect emotionally with their targets.

Here are six of the scams that experts say you should be watching out for this year.

1. Check cooking scam

Last year, the big thing was check washing, where thieves stole paper checks from postal boxes, mailboxes or even carriers and then washed the checks with chemicals, keeping the signature but erasing the amount and the payee so they could fill in a new name and amount. But now, they’ve discovered a less messy way to steal. In check cooking, thieves take a digital picture of a stolen check and then use commercially available software to alter it.

“It looks very real, even with the watermarks and all,” explains Michael Bruemmer, vice president of data breach resolution and consumer protection at Experian, a global credit verification and financial services firm. Criminals can print a new phony check or else just deposit the altered image using a bank’s mobile app, he notes.

How to stay safe: Consider using a safer payment method, such as a credit card. But if you choose to write paper checks, scammers still need to steal a physical copy. Make it harder for them. Instead of putting the check in a mailbox, drop it off directly at the nearest post office. And continually monitor your checking account and watch for any suspicious transactions.

2. Voiceprint Scams

Thanks to technological advances, it’s possible for thieves to capture a recording of your voice and then use a software program to generate an imitation “deepfake” version that can be used to impersonate you. “That voiceprint can be used to access your insurance or your financial institution or apply for a driver’s license,” Bruemmer says. The New York Times reported on a recent case in which a representative at a major bank received a call from a deepfake copy of a Florida investor’s voice, requesting that the bank move the man’s money elsewhere. Fortunately, the fraud attempt was spotted by the bank before the real investor lost his savings.

How to stay safe: To prevent your voice from being duplicated, “don’t answer the phone,” Bruemmer advises. “If someone needs to get hold of you, they can text you.” Bruemmer even is cautious about answering calls that appear to be from people on his contact list, since the call could be coming from a phone that’s been stolen or had its SIM card cloned, he says.

3. Delayed-action sweepstakes scam

Sweepstakes scammers, who call or write to say that you’ve won a fabulous fortune, have been around for ages. But recently they’ve come up with a new variation on the old formula, according to Bruemmer. Instead of trying to get you to pay taxes or other fees in advance to collect the nonexistent prize, the scammers will ask for personal information so that they can validate you and set up the payout. “They’ll say, just give us your banking information and your Social Security number, and we’ll file with the IRS and we’ll take care of everything,” he explains. “But, boom, it’s just another form of identity theft.” Instead of quickly looting your bank account — what Bruemmer calls a “smash and grab” — the scammers may play a long game. They’ll write small checks on your account to see whether you notice the fraudulent activity. If you don’t, they’ll continue to use the account to obtain credit cards and lines of credit in your name that they can siphon off, giving them a potentially bigger payday down the road.  

How to stay safe: As with previous variations of the sweepstakes scam, remember that if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you get a call from someone claiming that you’ve won a huge prize, the safest bet is to just hang up. And never, ever provide any personal information.

4. Virtual celebrity scam

Celebrities have had online presences for years, but the trend really gained momentum during the pandemic, when stars who couldn’t make public appearances tried to stay connected with their fans by doing online concerts and other events on social media. Fans have become accustomed to that constant virtual intimacy, which leaves them vulnerable to celebrity scammers. “You’re on Instagram or Facebook, and someone pretending to be Celine Dion or her manager reaches out to you,” explains Amy Nofziger, director of victim support for AARP’s Fraud Watch Network. If it’s a fake manager, “They might say, ‘Celine loves your comments. She’d love to talk to you. Here’s her private account.’ ” But after you connect to an impostor pretending to be the superstar singer, the talk gradually turns to how her fortune is tied up in a lawsuit, and she could use a $50,000 loan from you, or a similar story involving a need for your money.

How to stay safe: If you get a direct message from someone claiming to be a famous performer or superstar athlete or representing them, be skeptical. It’s almost certain to be a scam.

5. Multistage grandparent scam

This is a new, more sophisticated version of the old grandparent scam, in which crooks call and pretend to be a grandchild who’s been arrested and needs bail money to get out of a nonexistent legal jam. In the past, grandparent scammers were often small-timers who would plead for a few hundred dollars. But these days, Foss says, they often set up call centers staffed with young people who are paid a few bucks for every grandparent that they can connect with. After posing as grandchildren who’ve been jailed after a car accident, they’ll provide a case number and instruct the target to call their defense attorney or the local prosecutor. “When Grandpa calls up, they say, ‘Oh, do you have the case number?’” Foss explains. It’s actually a subtle psychological trick to see whether the grandparent is compliant and will follow their instructions to send thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.

Some scammers have a third conspirator pose as a courier and go to a grandparent’s home to pick up the money in person, according to Steve Baker, a former Federal Trade Commission official who now publishes the Baker Fraud Report newsletter.

How to stay safe: If you get a call from an unfamiliar number from a family member claiming to be in trouble, don’t panic. Instead, after you’ve finished talking — and certainly before sending money — the Federal Communications Commission recommends that you call or text the person at his or her usual number and check to see whether the family member is actually in trouble. If they don’t answer, contact other family members or friends if you have any concern that the emergency could be real. Scammers plead with you to keep the situation a secret precisely so you won’t try to confirm it.

6. Paris Olympics scams

Criminals try to find ways to exploit big events that are in the news. With the Paris games coming up this summer, Nofziger suspects that we may start seeing a revival of the fake emergency scam, which bears similarities to the grandparent scam but is slightly different. It could work something like this: A scammer hacks someone’s email account, and shortly after, all of that person’s contacts will receive the same message — something to the effect of, “Hey guys, I’m over in Paris and my wallet got stolen! Can anyone please help me out by sending gift cards or a Venmo deposit?” 

To the recipients, it’s a potentially convincing ruse. “You’re thinking very quickly, well, Amy was in Paris two years ago, and she loves the Olympics, so it all makes sense,” Nofziger explains. “Yeah, I’ll send you money.”

And Olympics officials are warning ticket seekers to avoid bogus ticketing sites and scam emails purporting to be from Paris 2024 (the official website for the games) or the Olympic committee.

How to stay safe: Resist the urge to react immediately if you hear from a friend in Paris needing cash. Instead, follow the Federal Trade Commission’s advice and try another way to contact the person who supposedly is in need, such as calling them on the phone. Alternatively, reach out to a trusted source who knows the person and would be aware of whether or not they went on a trip to Paris.

If you’re intending to go to Paris and receive emails regarding tickets to the games, the official website for Paris 2024 notes, “You will never be asked for the login details for your ticketing account (ID and password)” or “banking details.” Check the sender’s email address; scammers will often change one letter or number, or use .com rather than .org, hoping recipients will mistake the fake address for the legitimate one.

Reprinted from AARP Fraud Watch Network.

Online Shopping Scams

The share of shopping that consumers do online has been growing for years. E-commerce sales topped $1.03 trillion in 2022, an increase of 7 percent over the year before and the first time the number has surpassed $1 trillion, according to The Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce. 

Cybercriminals are keeping pace. An AARP survey of 2,012 U.S. consumers 18 and older, found that more than a third of respondents have experienced fraud when trying to buy a product through an online ad.

Online purchasing is the most common scam type reported to the Better Business Bureau (BBB), accounting for 32 percent of complaints to the BBB Scam Tracker in 2022, and the riskiest, with 3 in 4 victims reporting a monetary loss.

The typical shopping scam starts with a bogus website, mobile app or, increasingly, a social media ad; online shopping scams are the most commonly reported scam originating on social media, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Some faux e-stores are invented from whole cloth, but many mimic trusted retailers, with familiar logos and slogans and a URL that’s easily mistaken for the real thing. They offer popular items at a fraction of the usual cost and promise perks such as free shipping and overnight delivery, exploiting the premium online shoppers put on price and speed.

Some copycats do deliver merchandise — shoddy knockoffs worth less than even the “discount” price advertised as a once-in-a-lifetime deal on, say, Tiffany watches or Timberland boots. More often, you’ll wait in vain for your purchase to arrive. 

Your losses might not stop there: Scammers may seed phony sites, apps or links in pop-up ads and email coupons with malware that infects your device and harvests personal information for use in identity theft.

Not surprisingly, these frauds flourish during the holiday season and major shopping events such as Amazon’s Prime Day. Seasonal super sales bring a plethora of deceptive ads, phishing messages and look alike shopping sites, the BBB warns.

You need not forgo the ease and endless selection of online shopping, but take precautions to make sure you get what you pay for.

Warning signs

  • Bargain-basement prices. Internet security firm Norton says to be on guard if discounts exceed 55 percent.
  • Shoddy website design or sloppy English. Real retailers take great care with their online presentation.
  • Limited or suspicious contact options — for example, there’s only a fill-in contact form, or the customer service email is a Yahoo or Gmail account, not a corporate one.
  • URLs with extraneous words or characters (most stores use only their brand name in web addresses) or unusual domains — for example, .bargain, .app or a foreign domain instead of .com or .net.
  • Sites that ask you to download software or enter personal information to access coupons or discount codes.
  • Sellers who demand payment by wire transfer, money order or gift card. They are scammers.

How to protect yourself

  • Use trusted sites rather than shopping with a search engine. Scammers can game search results to lead you astray.
  • Comparison shop. Check prices from multiple retailers to help determine if a deal you’ve seen really is too good to be true.
  • Research an unfamiliar product or brand. Search for its name with terms such as “scam” or “complaint,” and look for reviews.
  • Check that phone numbers and addresses on store sites are genuine, so you can contact the seller in case of problems.
  • Carefully read delivery, exchange, refund and privacy policies. If they are vague or nonexistent, take your business elsewhere.
  • Look twice at URLs and app names. Misplaced or transposed letters are a scam giveaway but easy to miss.
  • Pay by credit card. Liability for fraudulent charges on credit cards is generally limited to $50, and some providers offer 100 percent purchase protection. Paying by debit card does not off offer such safeguards.
  • Don’t assume a retail website is safe because it is encrypted. Many scam sites use encryption, indicated by a padlock icon or “https://” in front of the URL, to provide a false sense of security. Use other means, including those listed above, to confirm if a site is legit.
  • Don’t provide more information than a retailer needs. That should be only your billing information and the shipping address.
  • Check that the site is well established, security software maker Norton recommends. Look for a copyright date, and use the WHOIS lookup service to see when a domain was created.

More Resources

reprinted from AARP Fraud Watch Network

Online Shopping Practices Pose a Risk During Holiday Season

Holiday shopping, like most shopping these days, has moved online, and that poses unique risks. During last year’s holiday shopping season, an AARP survey revealed that more than 75% of U.S. consumers reported that they experienced some kind of fraud, and a similar share of consumers failed a nine-question safe shopping quiz. The AARP holiday scams survey also identified three specific threat areas.

Online Shopping Scams – Making a purchase through an online ad may lead to fraud.
•Fraud criminals set up professional-looking websites offering popular items at a deep discount. When consumers purchase these supposed deals, they find out that either nothing arrives or the product they receive is not what was advertised.•Be suspicious of any online offer that offers a deep discount over what other retailers offer. Do your online shopping with trusted retailers.
Gift Card Graft – Giving or receiving a gift card that has no value on it isn’t uncommon.

Criminals manipulate cards on store racks or use electronic means to scan for activated gift cards online and drain the value off the cards.

Consider purchasing gift cards directly from the retailer online and register it if that’s an option. Use the card sooner than later to improve odds that you’ll get to spend the balance before a criminal can.
Package Scams – Fake notifications abound from the likes of UPS and FedEx about an alleged shipment issue.
•Criminals send out droves of texts, claiming a delivery is on hold because of an issue with your address, insufficient postage, nobody was home to receive it or some other “problem.” You’re asked to click a link or call a given number to address the alleged issue.•Avoid clicking on links from texts; rather, type the web address into your browser directly, use your app if that’s an option or contact the shipping company using a verified phone number (for example, look up the number at ‍UPS‍.c‍om vs. “googling” it; you may come across a listing that a criminal paid for).
Reprinted from AARP Fraud Watch Network

Cybersecurity

With so much of our lives happening online—whether for work, social connections, shopping or entertainment—cybercriminals have myriad ways to steal money and sensitive information. When you factor in the many devices we wear (smartwatches, anyone?) or that are in our homes linked to the internet, the opportunities grow.
 
How It Works•
Unsolicited emails, text messages, posts on social media platforms, online ads, pop-up messages—these are all the domain of cybercriminals and their attempts to “socially engineer” us.•Whether it’s a “problem” with a financial or retail account, a way to tap into “free” money, or another emotion-arousing message, the goal is to get us to take quick action—click on the link, or call the number provided.•That quick action can lead us to logging into copycat sites to expose our credentials or payment details or downloading malicious software.•With the “internet of things,” our connected devices are at risk for cyberhacks given universal default password settings, unsecure communications between devices, and security updates from manufacturers that aren’t timely or just don’t occur.
What You Should Know•
The hallmark of most online social-engineering scams involves 1) an unexpected communication that 2) yields a highly emotional response and 3) involves urgency. When these three elements are seen together, don’t engage—or if you do and realize it, quickly cut off contact.•Recognize that connected devices typically do not come with secure defaults, which leaves them open to a third-party intercepting or exposing your sensitive data.
What You Should Do•
Create strong and unique passwords for all online accounts and devices. Where possible, use biometrics such as fingerprints or facial recognition.•Where available, turn on multi-‍factor authentication, which is a second way beyond your username and password to verify it’s you accessing your account or device.•Where available, set up your devices and software to update automatically; quite often the updates are to shut down known security vulnerabilities.•Avoid clicking on links from emails and texts and on online ads. Type web addresses into your browser to ensure you aren’t sent to a copycat site, and only visit sites you know and trust.•For any troubling communication from your financial institution, a retailer you do business with, or a family member or friend, don’t interact. Instead, cut off communication and reach the entity or the person using the way you typically interact with them.
 Reprinted from AARP

November is Eyecare Month

Beware of Dr. Chatbot: Generative AI Often Gives Unreliable, Biased Medical Advice

New study shows patients shouldn’t put their full trust in the current state of general purpose artificial intelligence

SAN FRANCISCO  A group of ophthalmologists assessed the utility of the most popular generative artificial intelligence (AI) programs  – ChatGPT, Google Bard, and Bing Chat – as an educational resource for patients with eye conditions and disesases. They found that a majority of responses from all three tools were inaccurate, and that two of the three chatbots demonstrated a significant bias against female ophthalmologists. The authors caution that these models are not fine-tuned to provide accurate eye health information. They fear the inaccuracies may further delay treatment, putting their patients at increased risk for vision loss. The study will be presented this week at AAO 2023, the 127th annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Researchers from the University of Southern California asked three practicing ophthalmologists to compare the ability of these programs to answer common patient questions and create educational resources, as well as recommend ophthalmologists practicing in the 20 largest cities in the United States. The ophthalmologist evaluated the  information on a scale of 1 to 4.

Google Bard scored the highest for quality and accuracy of responses to patient questions, with an average rating of 2.3 out of 4. ChatGPT had the highest rating for patient educational resources, 3 out of 4.

All three chatbots struggled when asked to recommend practicing ophthalmologists or to accurately locate ophthalmologists in or near a specific city. Google Bard and Bing Chat recommended female ophthalmologists less than 2 percent of the time, even though 27 percent of the nation’s ophthalmologists are women.

“Given the substantial bias and inaccuracy demonstrated in this study, we warn against reliance on AI chatbots when seeking health-related information until improvements in algorithms are achieved and validated in the future,” said researcher Michael Oca, BS of the University of California, San Diego. “A poor recommendation from a chatbot could further delay a patient’s treatment.”

For accurate, ophthalmologist-vetted information online, the Academy offers www.EyeSmart.org as a public resource.

“Relying on online tools for quick advice may be tempting, but we urge the public to remember that this is not a replacement for a comprehensive eye exam with an ophthalmologist. Seeing a medical doctor for preventative exams and examining any sudden change in vision is the best way to protect your eye health,” said senior author Sandy Zhang-Nunes, MD, associate professor of clinical ophthalmology, and director of oculofacial plastic surgery at the University of Southern California.

About the American Academy of Ophthalmology

The American Academy of Ophthalmology is the world’s largest association of eye physicians and surgeons. A global community of 32,000 medical doctors, we protect sight and empower lives by setting the standards for ophthalmic education and advocating for our patients and the public. We innovate and support research to advance our profession and to ensure the delivery of the highest-quality eye care. Our EyeSmart® program provides the public with the most trusted information about eye health. For more information, visit aao.org.