(KRON) – Authorities are warning you of a growing phone scam that according to the Federal Trade Commission is already the number one scam being reported this year.
In this scam, the caller claims to be from the Social Security Administration and says your benefits will be suspended.
It will then prompt you to press 1 on your keypad if you feel this is a mistake.
If you get a call like this, DO NOT PRESS 1, officials are urging you.
Hang up.
The FTC says the Social Security Administration will never call you to ask you to send or wire cash or threaten to take away your benefits.
If you press 1, a scammer will pick up the phone and ask you for money or personal information that you should not disclose to anyone.
According to the FTC, there have been more than 70,000 reports about this scam in the first 6 months of 2019, with $17 million in reported losses.
Again, officials are reminding you to just hang up if you get a call like this and to remember not to give your SSN to anyone.
If you think you are a victim of this scam, report it to the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General or the FTC immediately.