The Social Security Administration (SSA) and Federal Trade Commission are warning Americans about a scam email with “Get Protected” in the subject line.
The email describes new features from the Social Security Administration (SSA) that can help taxpayers monitor their credit reports, and know about unauthorized use of their Social Security number. It even cites the IRS and the official-sounding “S.A.F.E Act 2015.” It sounds real, but it’s all made-up.
If you get an email like that, don’t click on any of the links or open attachments.
It’s a phishing email to get you to click on a scammer’s link. If you do, a scammer can install malware — like viruses and spyware — on your computer. Or, the link might send you to a spoof site — a lookalike website set up by a scammer to trick you into entering your personal information.
Not sure if an email is really from Social Security? Here are a couple of clues. Did the email end up in your junk folder? Email providers use filters to help catch phishing scams and spam from getting into your inbox. And when you hover your cursor over the link, does it really go to a trusted website?
In this fake SSA email, when you hover over the url you’re told to click on, you see the link goes to an unrelated “.com” — instead of the Social Security Administration’s ssa.gov.
Today’s Answer was provided by Sheri R. Abrams, Esq., from the Law Firm of Sheri R. Abrams, Attorney at Law in Oakton, Virginia.