An elderly Johnston County woman lost more than $40,000 in a social security scam last month. The 80 year-old Selma woman said she received a phone call from a person pretending to be with the Social Security Administration. They claimed her social security number had been flagged because it had been associated with a crime. The victim was directly to send $15,000 in cash to an address in New Jersey. The victim was contacted a second time and asked to send an additional $20,000. Days later the victim received a third call and was directed to obtain $5,800 in gift cards and provide the card numbers to the scammer.
Only after the victim had lost $40,800 she realized she had been scammed. The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident.
In 2018, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 63,000 reports of Social Security phone scams. If you are called by someone claiming to be with the Social Security Administration, don’t give out personal information. If you suspect it is a scam, contact your local law enforcement agency, your local Social Security Office, or call the SSA at 1-800-772-1213. You can also contact the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at 1-866-561-2101.
You can also submit a Fraud Report online at the OIG Website.
