--- title: Social Security Scammers Are Using the 2027 COLA Announcement to Promise Bigger Checks description: Scammers are taking advantage of Social Security recipients' interest in the upcoming COLA announcement. Here's what to watch for. authors: - name: Gabriel O. Rodriguez Cruz role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/gabriel-rodriguez/ bio: Gabriel Rodríguez is an editor at Money who covers financial technology and digital security. His two main topics of expertise are identity theft protection services and crypto, specifically crypto wallet and crypto exchanges. education: University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras at_money_since: 2018 articles: 104 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Economy and Politics - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-rodriguez-cruz/ editors: - name: Julia Glum role: Managing Editor url: https://money.com/author/julia-glum/ bio: Julia Glum joined Money in 2018 and specializes in covering financial trends that affect everyday Americans' wallets. She also writes Dollar Scholar, a weekly newsletter that teaches young adults how to navigate the messy world of money. education: University of Florida at_money_since: 2018 articles: 453 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes - Technology also_seen_in: - Newsweek - International Business Times - CBS News - Good Morning America - WUSA9 - Pix 11 - The New York Times - Mashable - The Washington Post - CNBC - Politico social: - https://x.com/superjulia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/julia-glum published: '2026-09-25T16:15:18.000Z' modified: '2026-09-25T16:15:18.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 595 canonical: https://money.com/social-security-benefit-increase-scam/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Scam related images with social security card](https://img.money.com/2026/09/News-Social-security-scam-rise.jpg) Social Security recipients hoping for bigger checks next year could instead lose money to [a growing scam](https://oig.ssa.gov/scam-alerts/2026-09-21-don%E2%80%99t-pay-for-promises-of-increased-ssa-benefits/) promising to “maximize,” “boost” or “unlock” benefits. The offers may arrive through unsolicited calls, letters, text messages, ads or social media posts. Some lead recipients to legitimate-looking websites or forms that request sensitive information like Social Security numbers and bank account details, supposedly to calculate or process a larger payment. The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General confirms to Money that these offers are part of a seasonal increase in reported fraud. The SSA will announce the [2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment](https://money.com/social-security-2027-cola-latest/), or COLA, in October, meaning beneficiaries will learn how much their monthly payments will increase next year. That heightened interest gives criminals an opening to circulate fake benefit offers and claim recipients must take action to secure more money. In reality, Social Security COLAs are applied automatically. Recipients never need to pay a fee or provide information to activate the increase. ## How the Social Security benefit-increase scam works According to a news release, the fake offers appear to come directly from the SSA. Scammers ask the recipient to verify the benefits they currently receive, then demand an administrative fee or request enough personal information to facilitate identity theft. But there is no secret method for negotiating a higher Social Security payment. In fact, there's no negotiating at all: Benefit amounts are determined by federal law using factors such as a worker’s earnings record, retirement age and eligibility for certain programs. Losing the advertised fee is only the immediate risk. Someone who submits a Social Security number and bank information could also inadvertently surrender control of their benefits account. Haywood Talcove, CEO of online fraud prevention company LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ Government Group, says that criminals can change the bank account connected to a victim’s Social Security benefits along with other account information. Then, when the *actual* beneficiary attempts to regain access, the altered details can make it difficult to prove that they are the legitimate account holder. "It makes you, the real person, look like a criminal," Talcove adds. That threat is evident in [a separate scheme](https://oig.ssa.gov/scam-alerts/2026-09-09-beware-of-direct-deposit-offers-tied-to-prizes/) reported earlier this month. Fraudsters used fake prize offers to convince victims to redirect their Social Security deposits to prepaid debit accounts before cutting them off from their own monthly payments. Government impersonation scams are also becoming increasingly expensive. Consumers reported losing about $920 million to government impostors in 2025, [according to the Federal Trade Commission](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2026/06/ftc-data-show-people-reported-losing-3-point-5-billion-imposter-scams-2025). ## How to protect your Social Security benefits Consider any unsolicited offer to increase your benefits suspicious, especially if it requests a fee, Social Security number, banking details or account credentials. Do not click links or call a number included in the message. Instead, navigate directly to [ssa.gov/myaccount](https://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/) to review your earnings, benefits and direct-deposit information. Monitoring the account can help you spot changes you did not authorize. If you already provided information to a suspected scammer, contact your bank and the SSA immediately at 1-800-772-1213. If you are locked out of your account or cannot resolve the problem online or by phone, Talcove recommends visiting a local Social Security office as quickly as possible. "Sprint to your local Social Security office and tell them in person," he says. You should also report the incident at [ssa.gov/scam](https://www.ssa.gov/scam/) and visit [IdentityTheft.gov](https://www.identitytheft.gov/) for a recovery plan if personal information was compromised. Above all, remember that a legitimate Social Security increase does not need to be unlocked. Anyone offering to negotiate a bigger check for a fee is trying to take your money, information or both. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-benefit-increase-scam/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Retirement", "item": "https://money.com/retirement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Social Security", "item": "https://money.com/social-security/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Social Security Scammers Are Using the 2027 COLA Announcement to Promise Bigger Checks" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-benefit-increase-scam/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/social-security-benefit-increase-scam/", "name": "Social Security Scammers Are Using the 2027 COLA Announcement to Promise Bigger Checks", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2026-09-25T16:15:18.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-benefit-increase-scam/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-benefit-increase-scam/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2026-09-25T16:15:18.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Social Security Scammers Are Using the 2027 COLA Announcement to Promise Bigger Checks", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2026/09/News-Social-security-scam-rise.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Social-security-scam-rise" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gabriel O. Rodriguez Cruz", "url": "https://money.com/author/gabriel-rodriguez/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/gabriel-rodriguez/#author", "description": "Gabriel Rodríguez is an editor at Money who covers financial technology and digital security. His two main topics of expertise are identity theft protection services and crypto, specifically crypto wallet and crypto exchanges.", "image": "https://img.money.com/2020/06/Gabriel-Rodriguez-1.png?w=400&h=400&crop=1", "email": "gabriel.rodriguez@money.com", "jobTitle": "Associate Editor", "alumniOf": "University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras", "sameAs": [ "https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-rodriguez-cruz/" ], "worksFor": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2026-09-25T16:15:18.000Z", "description": "Scammers are taking advantage of Social Security recipients' interest in the upcoming COLA announcement. 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