Casey Warns Seniors: Beware of Widespread Social Security Scam

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging, held a hearing entitled, “That’s Not the Government Calling: Protecting Seniors from the Social Security Impersonation Scam.” During the hearing, Senator Casey highlighted his bipartisan bill, the Stop Senior Scams Act, which would ensure retailers and financial institutions have the resources to train employees to help stop financial scams on seniors. Senator Casey also released the Aging Committee’s 2020 Fraud Book, which highlights the Social Security Impersonation Scam as the most frequently reported scam for the first time ever.

“The Social Security impersonation scam capitalizes off of hardworking Americans. Seniors who depend on Social Security benefits to meet their needs are likely to lose an entire month’s income if they were to fall victim to this scam. This is unacceptable,” said Senator Casey. “I urge Pennsylvanians to help me get this message out, so that every individual, particularly older adults, is armed with information to prevent falling victim to a con artist claiming to be the federal government. No one from our government will ever make these types of threats.”

Senator Casey invited Nora Dowd Eisenhower, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Mayor’s Commission on Aging, to the hearing to discuss how the Social Security impersonation scam affects seniors and ways the government and industry can help protect older Americans from falling victim. “The very nature of the Social Security impersonation scam is to trick the victim of this crime into believing that the caller is from the Social Security Agency and is trying to assist or protect the senior from the loss of Social Security benefit,” said Ms. Dowd Eisenhower. “This cynical approach is working, and we must stop the devastating damage that is occurring.”

Read more about the Stop Senior Scams Act here.