--- title: Social Security Payments Just Increased, and Scammers Are Already Targeting Retirees description: Ignore that text message, email or phone call purporting to be from the Social Security Administration. Your 2023 COLA is automatic. authors: - name: Mary Ellen Cagnassola role: Reporter url: https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/ bio: Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former Money reporter specializing in Social Security and retirement coverage, with a focus on making complex policy accessible to readers. education: Rutgers University, BA Journalism at_money_since: 2021 articles: 205 covers: - Retirement - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Shopping - Taxes former_staff: true published: '2023-02-08T19:57:59.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T14:34:20.000Z' section: Retirement tags: - News word_count: 329 canonical: https://money.com/social-security-scam-cola/ 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/). ![Photo Collage of a Social Security Card with some dollar bills being fished by a hook.](https://img.money.com/2023/02/News-Social-Security-COLA-Scam-Increase.jpg) Last fall, the Social Security Administration [approved the highest cost-of-living adjustment](https://money.com/social-security-checks-cola-increase-2023/) — or COLA — for benefits recipients in over four decades. Now, as government sends out the [first checks](https://money.com/bigger-social-security-checks-schedule-2023/) with the 2023 COLA included, scammers are looking to get a piece of that increase. ## What's going on [The Better Business Bureau](https://www.bbb.org/article/scams/28089-bbb-scam-alert-how-social-security-recipients-can-stay-alert-to-cost-of-living-adjustment-scams) is advising recipients and their loved ones to keep an eye out for phone, text and email scams that involve the 2023 COLA, which raised Social Security and Supplemental Security Income payments by 8.7% due to inflation. - The bureau says scammers contact benefit recipients claiming to be a representative from the Social Security Administration and tell them they have to apply for a cost-of-living increase. - The scammers ask their targets to visit a website, send them information via text, or speak on the phone to quote-unquote "claim their benefit." - Scammers will ask for sensitive personal information like a person's address, Social Security number or [bank](https://money.com/best-banks/) information, saying that someone will deposit the extra money directly into their bank accounts. In reality, they'll use the data for fraudulent purposes. ## The truth - The SSA will never contact you by email, text or phone. Much [like the IRS](https://money.com/irs-text-message-scam/), the agency only communicates by mail. - The COLA is automatic, which means beneficiaries don’t have to take any action to get their increase. - Scammers might threaten victims with arrest or legal action if they don’t cooperate — but the SSA doesn’t suspend Social Security numbers or ask for money. It also never asks for private information to increase payments. ## Keep in mind Recipients who suspect they are being scammed should hang up or stop communicating with the scammer. To confirm whether the claims were legitimate, you can visit [SSA.gov](http://SSA.gov) to research or call 1-800-772-1213. [How Long Does Retirement Last? Many Americans Don't Know](https://money.com/how-long-retirement-lasts-survey/) [Save for College or Retirement? New 529 Rule Makes It Easier to Help Your Kid Do Both](https://money.com/529-roth-ira-rollover/) ['Shrinkflation' Really Is Making Your Groceries Smaller, Government Confirms](https://money.com/shrinkflation-smaller-groceries-bls-report/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-scam-cola/#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 Payments Just Increased, and Scammers Are Already Targeting Retirees" } ] }, { "@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-scam-cola/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/social-security-scam-cola/", "name": "Social Security Payments Just Increased, and Scammers Are Already Targeting Retirees", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-02-08T19:57:59.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-scam-cola/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/social-security-scam-cola/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T14:34:20.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Social Security Payments Just Increased, and Scammers Are Already Targeting Retirees", "articleSection": "Retirement", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/02/News-Social-Security-COLA-Scam-Increase.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "News-Social-Security-COLA-Scam-Increase" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mary Ellen Cagnassola", "url": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/mary-ellen-cagnassola/#author", "description": "Mary Ellen (M.E.) Cagnassola is a former Money reporter specializing in Social Security and retirement coverage, with a focus on making complex policy accessible to readers.\r\n\r\n", "image": "https://img.money.com/2023/02/mary-ellen.png?w=350&h=430&crop=1", "alumniOf": "Rutgers University, BA Journalism" } ], "publisher": "https://money.com/#organization", "datePublished": "2023-02-08T19:57:59.000Z", "description": "Ignore that text message, email or phone call purporting to be from the Social Security Administration. Your 2023 COLA is automatic.", "abstract": "Ignore that text message, email or phone call purporting to be from the Social Security Administration. 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