We have received a few reports from consumers saying they received calls from our office about their Social Security number being compromised and being deactivated. Sadly, it seems that the scammers in the world are using the trust OCWCOG’s Senior and Disability Services (SDS) has built with our consumers as a tool to be exploitive.
- Incidents of scammers calling and getting information from people to commit fraud are on the rise in our Region.
- Scammers have become skilled at appearing legitimate, including making people think that the calls come from agencies like ours, the IRS, or Social Security.
- In cases where SDS would really be contacting a consumer and asking for information, SDS would usually have had some kind of initial contact, such as the consumer calling us and asking for benefits, or us sending a letter saying it’s time to re-determine benefits.
- When in doubt, we strongly discourage people from providing personal information over the telephone, unless they are certain of who is on the other end of the line.
- If there are questions about a phone call, email, text message, or any other type of communication claiming to be from SDS, consumers can contact our office to make sure it is legitimate. Call 541.967.8630 to reach OCWCOG ADRC.
Thank you.