If you’re like most people, you protect what’s valuable to you. To protect your family financially, you buy health and life insurance. To protect your home, you get homeowner’s insurance, a security alarm, or perhaps a large dog. You hide your jewelry in a safe place or buy insurance in case you need to replace it. You save or invest your money with a bank that offers FDIC coverage.
Social Security is much the same. We value the people we serve, our employees who provide world-class customer service, and the integrity of our programs. We protect them by using many tools to identify, prevent, and stop fraud; we seek maximum punishment for those who commit it.
Social Security has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud. We use tools to help us predict where fraud may occur, and by monitoring cases closely, we identify fraud early. We also have stiff penalties that discourage people from committing fraud.
We cannot prevent every instance of fraud, just as law enforcement cannot prevent all crime, but we aggressively investigate and pursue prosecution of all who try to cheat the system. Our message to those who would defraud Social Security is clear: We will find you; we will prosecute you; we will seek the maximum punishment allowable under the law; and we will fight to restore to the American public the money you’ve stolen.
Social Security takes fraud seriously and so should you. If you suspect someone is committing Social Security fraud, report it online at oig.ssa.gov/report-fraud-waste-or-abuse/fraud-waste-and-abuse or call the Social Security Fraud Hotline at 1-800-269-0271.
Questions, online applications, or to make an appointment to visit a Social Security office, contact:
1-800-772-1213 (toll free) | 1-800-325-0778 (TTY)
www.socialsecurity.gov
