Raising consumer awareness if a challenge since social media has pulled people away from reliable sources of news. Image: panuwat phimpha/Shutterstock.com
People are most likely to fall victim to scams involving Social Security benefits when the scammers overcome their logic with emotion, according to a recent publication from the Center for Retirement Research.
Both the SSA and its inspector general’s office have warned repeatedly in recent years about the prevalence of such scams, in which victims are told that there is some problem with their benefits that can only be rectified by making a payment. In many cases, they spoof the phone numbers of real Social Security offices and use the names and titles of actual Social Security employees, including IG agents.
Those warnings stress that the government would never make the types of requests for payments—such as wiring money, or purchasing and sending commercial gift cards or cybercurrency — that might raise warning signs of a scam to the targeted person.
However, the publication said that over 2018-2021, more than 300,000 people lost on average $1,500 to one such scam, in which “someone claiming to be from the agency tells the intended victim that he has been accused of a crime and that his bank account will be frozen.”
It said that a study of FTC case reports found that emotional arousal “is an extremely effective tool” that overwhelms victims’ ability to process information rationally.”
“The victims’ accounts reveal a trove of psychological manipulation by the Social Security imposters to elicit anxiety and other negative emotions. Some imposters threatened to harm the victims or their families. In half of the complaints the researchers scrutinized, victims were threatened with arrest,” it said.
“In a quantitative comparison between the victims who lost money and the people who resisted the scams, the victims used more words associated with fear and anxiety – “terrified,” paralyzed” – and anger – “frustrated,” “stolen.” A higher prevalence of fear words – “illegal,” “threaten,” – correlated with dollar losses,” it said.
It said that those who successfully resisted such scams “usually either knew Social Security would never make such a call or discussed the situation with the police, a retail worker selling gift cards, or even Social Security employees.” That suggests continuing the efforts to raise consumer awareness, “however, this solution presents its own challenges at a time social media has pulled people away from reliable sources of news.”
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