Schumer Takes Steps to Stop Social Security Fraud

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer on Monday called on the Social Security Administration to implement safety measures for benefit recipients after thousands of seniors have reported being victims of fraud.

In a new practice, scammers are getting a hold of the bank account information of a social security beneficiary and then, with a simple phone call and minimal information, rerouting the payments to their own accounts.

As of Aug. 31, the Social Security Administration’s inspector general received over 19,000 reports of attempted changes to bank account information, and they are currently receiving a shocking 50 additional complaints each day.

To foil scammers, Schumer is calling on the Social Security Administration to provide notification via e-mail, text, letters, and automated phone calls to benefit recipients when their deposit information is changed.

Schumer described this as a simple and common sense step that could drastically reduce fraud and save social security payments.