Previous warnings about impersonation scams—involving agencies such as the IRS, GSA, CBP and EPA in addition to the SSA. Image: Jimmy Rooney/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffScams involving impersonations of federal agencies and even individual federal employees have now extended to invoking the U.S. Supreme Court, the inspector general’s office of the SSA has warned.
“This scam comes in the form of an official-looking letter identified as a “certificate” on fake U.S. Supreme Court letterhead using forged signatures of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. This high-pressure scam urges individuals to cooperate with the named SSA official, pressuring them to send money or share personal information,” it says.
“The scam letter is personally addressed to the recipient and claims they are a primary suspect in connection with legal proceedings and criminal charges. The letter may use the real name of an SSA executive and claim that the proceedings “are conducted with the oversight of Attorney General Raúl Torrez” of New Mexico. The letter further claims that according to findings from SSA and the incorrectly named “Drug Enforcement Agency,” the recipient may have been subjected to identity theft, noting that their Social Security number (SSN) has been compromised. The letter states that SSA will issue a new SSN,” it says.
It further states that the Supreme Court requested financial institutions to freeze all the recipient’s assets and claims that the recipient cannot maintain a balance exceeding $10,000 in any banking institution or hold $80,000 – $100,000 in any investments or financial institution.
“On every level this letter is completely false,” the IG’s office said. “Scammers continue to exploit fear and confusion by impersonating government agencies and officials. These criminals are falsely accusing an individual of a crime and using federal agencies and federal officials to try to scare and legitimize their scam – if you get this type of letter, rip it up and report it. Be aware of any variations of this scam.”
Previous warnings about impersonation scams—involving agencies such as the IRS, GSA, CBP and EPA in addition to the SSA—also have pointed to spoofing of official phone numbers and even use of the names, titles and other identification of actual individual agency employees. A recent report from the Senate Aging Committee meanwhile cautioned that such scams are getting more sophisticated through growing use of artificial intelligence, voice cloning, deepfake images and other technology.
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