Imposter Scams

What You Should Know
•Government agencies will not call you out of the blue. So, that robocall from the Social Security Administration informing you that your Social Security number has been suspended due to criminal activity is a scam.•Most businesses also won’t contact you out of the blue about some alleged issue. So, the utility company calling to tell you they are about to cut off your power because you didn’t pay your bills is also a scam.
What You Should Do
•Let your answering machine or your voicemail do the work for you, and don’t trust your caller ID to be truthful (scammers can easily fake that information). Listen to messages with a wary ear, and make a considered decision about which calls you return.• Ask your service provider for your landline and your mobile phone what they can do to block calls that are “scam likely.”• To learn more about how to spot and avoid impostor scams, visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network Fraud Resource Center page on impostor scams.