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Recently, the Social Security Administration (SSA) made a Facebook post alerting readers that they should never share their Social Security numbers with unknown phone callers (who are often pretending to be government officials to steal identities). Additionally, a spike in Social Security-related identity thefts occurred throughout February.
Per CNBC, this has all led to a surge in searches of the phrase “social security scams” online, with that phrase having been looked up 550,000 times over the last month. Americans on Social Security are looking for ways to protect themselves from Social Security scams in 2026. Here’s what to look out for and ways to protect yourself against these scams.
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Look Out for These Warning Signs
Scammers will often prey upon Social Security recipients in order to steal access to SSA benefits. Thankfully, there are warning signs you can look out for to protect yourself.
For instance, some Social Security scammers will send you an email asking you to click a dangerous link that can lead to identity theft. However, if a Social Security email comes from an address that doesn’t end in “.gov,” it’s a scam. Any email from SSA would come from a government address, thereby always ending in a .gov. Additionally, an official SSA would never send you a Social Security statement to download, nor would it include attachments or embeddable links.
Also keep your eyes peeled for misspelled agency names or being asked to provide your Social Security number or credit card numbers. The SSA would never ask for these via email (or phone).
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4 Ways To Guard Yourself From a Scam
In addition to being vigilant about warning signs, there are a handful of ways in which you can preemptively guard yourself from Social Security scams. According to CNBC, here is how you can keep your information safe.
Avoid Clicking Suspicious Links
Many scams will ask folks to clink on a link and that link will lead Social Security recipients to a scam site that steals personal information for the purposes of identity theft and stealing Social Security benefits.
Freeze Your Credit
If you’ve reached a point at which you never plan to open up new forms of credit, you can always reach out the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian and TransUnion — and have your credit frozen. This will prevent scammers from opening up credit lines under your name and Social Security information.
Utilize an Identity Protection Service
Affordable identity protection software can guard you from viruses and malware designed to steal your information online and can search the dark web to discover if your private information has leaked.
Verify, Verify, Verify
If you receive a form of contact that purports to be from the SSA and you have your doubts, discontinue the communication and then reach back out to SSA customer service to verify that the email, text or phone call you received was valid. Never, ever give out your personal information when in doubt and when in doubt always verify, verify, verify.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Social Security Scams Are Surging — 4 Ways To Protect Yourself in 2026
