Federal Government and Private Sector Join Forces to Promote National “Slam the Scam” Day
The Inspector General for the Social Security Administration, Gail S. Ennis, is pleased to announce that Federal agencies and private-sector organizations have joined forces to celebrate National “Slam the Scam” Day, today, March 5, 2020. Inspector General Ennis designated this day to raise public awareness of government imposter phone scams that are widespread across the United States.
As a National Consumer Protection Week initiative, National “Slam the Scam” Day aims to deliver key messages about government imposter scams:
- Hang up or ignore unsolicited calls from government agencies demanding immediate payment;
- Report Social Security scam calls to oig.ssa.gov; and
- Tell your friends and family about scam calls to protect them.
For nearly a year, the Social Security Office of the Inspector General has been engaged in a public outreach effort to educate Americans about Social Security scams. National “Slam the Scam” Day is intended to broaden this effort to all government imposter scams. These insidious scams caused nearly $153 million in fraud losses last year, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
“I created the National ‘Slam the Scam’ Day so we could harness the collective power of the Federal Government to reach as many people as possible,” said Inspector General Ennis. “I want to thank those agencies and organizations that have picked up the baton and joined us in this critical effort. Education and awareness will always be our most effective weapons in the fight against imposter scams.”
Today’s events include:
- 11 a.m. ET: @SocialSecurity and @TheSSAOIG participate in a #SlamTheScamChat on Twitter hosted by @USAgov
- 1 p.m. ET, AARP will release a free “Slam the Scam” webinar to educate the public about Medicare, IRS, Census, and Social Security scams. Registration is required.
- 7 p.m. ET: Inspector General Ennis will appear on Facebook Live at Social Security, with Monica Vaca, Associate Director for Consumer Response and Operations at the Federal Trade Commission.
Numerous government entities are supporting National “Slam the Scam” Day, including the Senate Special Committee on Aging, House Committee on Ways and Means, Subcommittee on Social Security, Social Security Administration, Federal Trade Commission, Treasury IG for Tax Administration, Department of Health & Human Services, Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General, FBI, and many others. Nonprofit and private-sector organizations supporting this effort include AARP, the Better Business Bureau, Wal-Mart, CVS, the National Association of Attorneys General, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Allsup, and many others.
The public is encouraged to report Social Security scams online at https://oig.ssa.gov. Other government imposter scams may be reported to the Federal Trade Commission. Join us on Facebook and Twitter to follow along on National “Slam the Scam” Day, and visit https://oig.ssa.gov/scam for more information. Members of the press may make inquiries to Social Security OIG at oig.dcom@ssa.gov.