# Does the Social Security Administration suspend people's SS #'s? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 13, 2020, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365 "2020-01-13T19:23:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/41 "2020-01-15T01:28:01Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Another scam we’re seeing locally is someone coming to your door who is supposedly representing an energy saving organization that can help you reduce your utility bills. It’s always a fairly personable young man or woman, often a minority, who tries to play on your liberal tendencies to want to save the environment in order to extract personal information from you. It’s a variation on the “help fund our school trip by subscribing to all these magazines” scam. I just ran one of them off a couple of days ago. I’ve posted one or two rants about these people. They come to your door saying they’re from “the electric company” (they never say an actual company name). They _insist_ on seeing your latest electric bill to “see if you’re being overcharged”. The reality is that they’re trying to trick you into changing your electric provider. They are extremely persistent and act as if they have some legal right to see your bill. I’ve had to threaten to call the police to get them to leave. The environmental thing is a new angle. I’ve haven’t seen them try that yet. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/42 "2020-01-15T02:44:45Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’ve posted one or two rants about these people. They come to your door saying they’re from “the electric company” (they never say an actual company name). They _insist_ on seeing your latest electric bill to “see if you’re being overcharged”. The reality is that they’re trying to trick you into changing your electric provider. I live in California, so I figure I’m safe from this scam. If some person comes to enough doors with a spiel that might make people think they’re from PG&E, they will surely have the snot beaten out of them at some point. Or set on fire. We don’t like PG&E very much around here. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/43 "2020-01-15T03:50:28Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Another scam we’re seeing locally is someone coming to your door… The only unexpected people coming to our door these last two decades were two pair of religious solicitors some years apart. Pumas likely got the rest. Mountain life is good. Folks living neck-to-neck in urbs and suburbs don’t appreciate wild carnivores. How to avoid landline and cell spam? Never answer; only take messages; return calls worthy of your effort and hope the recipients don’t follow your strategy. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/44 "2020-01-15T05:51:32Z")
If you simply refuse to answer an incoming call when you don’t recognize the caller’s number, that seems potentially troublesome. What, you never get a call from a stranger occasionally that is legitimate and maybe even interesting or important to you? I have occasionally. Not often, to be sure. Example: I got a call once from someone that I didn’t know (at the time), but knew of only vaguely and only by his first name. He was the caretaker at a property that was being prepared for a [recreational event](http://ncsa-buzzard.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-spring-15-panoche-glider-palooza.html), and he had an issue that had to be dealt with. I don’t have caller ID, but if I did, I would certainly not have known his number. He began leaving a rather longish message, beginning with his name (which I didn’t recognize). But it became clear that the lengthy message was important for me and for many others too. I wasn’t the right person for him to call, but he didn’t have contact information for all the right people, and he had somehow gotten my phone number, and it was rather urgent, needing resolution by the following day. In the middle of all that, I answered. Once I understood what he wanted, I was able to get him connected up with all the right people. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/45 "2020-01-15T06:33:01Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > If you simply refuse to answer an incoming call when you don’t recognize the caller’s number, that seems potentially troublesome. What, you never get a call from a stranger occasionally that is legitimate and maybe even interesting or important to you? > > I have occasionally. Not often, to be sure. > > Example: I got a call once from someone that I didn’t know (at the time), but knew of only vaguely and only by his first name. He was the caretaker at a property that was being prepared for a [recreational event](http://ncsa-buzzard.blogspot.com/2015/06/the-spring-15-panoche-glider-palooza.html), and he had an issue that had to be dealt with. I don’t have caller ID, but if I did, I would certainly not have known his number. > > He began leaving a rather longish message, beginning with his name (which I didn’t recognize). But it became clear that the lengthy message was important for me and for many others too. I wasn’t the right person for him to call, but he didn’t have contact information for all the right people, and he had somehow gotten my phone number, and it was rather urgent, needing resolution by the following day. > > In the middle of all that, I answered. Once I understood what he wanted, I was able to get him connected up with all the right people. Then they’ll leave a voicemail if it’s that important. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/46 "2020-01-15T18:29:09Z")
I get calls during the day for work and won’t always recognize the number, so ignoring calls isn’t much of an option. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/47 "2020-01-15T18:38:10Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I’ve posted one or two rants about these people. They come to your door saying they’re from “the electric company” (they never say an actual company name). They _insist_ on seeing your latest electric bill to “see if you’re being overcharged”. The reality is that they’re trying to trick you into changing your electric provider. > > They are extremely persistent and act as if they have some legal right to see your bill. I’ve had to threaten to call the police to get them to leave. > > The environmental thing is a new angle. I’ve haven’t seen them try that yet. What annoys me is that we have a ‘no solicitors’ sign prominently displayed. If you ignore my wishes, do you really think I’m going to be receptive to your pitch? I’ve also had religious types tell me, after being made aware of the sign, “Oh, I’m not selling anything!” Of course you are, dear. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/48 "2020-01-15T19:06:56Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > The SSA (and the IRS) will never contact you by phone. If they have any business with you, they will communicate with you by letter. If you get such a phone call, don’t answer it. If they leave a voicemail, delete it. They will call you only after you have called them or they have sent letters. So, a collection attempt by a revenue Officer will be along the lines of “letter, firm letter, threatening letter, call, personal home or business visit.” One of the letters will be sent certified. ---
**Author:** ![Anny\_Middon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc79bd/32.png) [@Anny\_Middon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anny_Middon)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/49 "2020-01-15T20:17:30Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > They will call you only after you have called them or they have sent letters. Not necessarily. I signed up (online, I think) to start receiving my SS benefits. This would have been 4 years ago. A few weeks later, having never spoken with or received a letter from SSA, I started to get phone calls where the caller ID read “Federal Government.” Since I had gotten IRS scam calls, I ignored them. However they kept calling, so I finally answered one day. It of course was SSA. I forget what they wanted, but it was benign enough I felt comfortable providing the info over the phone. When business was concluded, I told them they needed to change their caller ID info. The man sighed and told me that they’d like to, but the red tape involved in doing so was horrendous enough that so far they’d been unsuccessful in getting it approved. I also suggested that they leave a message with a callback number. That he said was not allowed for privacy reasons. ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/50 "2020-01-15T20:42:13Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > I just got a robocall claiming to be from the Social Security Administration claiming that, due to “suspicious activity”, my SS # has been ‘suspended’, but helpfully added that I could press 1 for more information. > > I hit 1 and was connected to a heavily-accented fellow who said he needed my name before we could proceed. I was suspicious and did not want to tell him anything, and asked if I could just call the SS admin back at a better time. > > Sure! Then he called me by my first name and explained that I had to call the office in El Paso, TX because that is where the suspicious activity occurred. > > Yeah, in El Paso and also over my phone. Why would I need to contact a local office? Isn’t SS a federal program? Anyway, my question for the dope is: is suspending someone’s SS # for reasons like this even a thing? I have never heard of it, but don’t want to neglect myself into more problems if this actually turns out to be legit. Social Security, the IRS, and Microsoft all have one thing in common: They will never call you. ---
**Author:** ![Dobbs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Dobbs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dobbs)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/51 "2020-01-15T21:35:36Z")
I got the Social Security scam call today. After I told them my name was Dick Nixon, and my SSAN was 567 68 0515, they hung upon me. I guess they’ve heard that one too many times. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/52 "2020-01-15T22:35:12Z")
> [@TimfromNapa](#): > > Social Security, the IRS, and Microsoft all have one thing in common: They will never call you. For the two government agencies, not “never” but only after establishing contact via snail mail. I’ve had ongoing issues with both of them and once the ‘conversation’ – for lack of a better term – had started they called me more than once, and I called them as well. ---
**Author:** ![Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ba8739/32.png) [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Backwater_Under_Duck)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/53 "2020-01-16T02:09:44Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > What annoys me is that we have a ‘no solicitors’ sign prominently displayed. If you ignore my wishes, do you really think I’m going to be receptive to your pitch? I’ve also had religious types tell me, after being made aware of the sign, “Oh, I’m not selling anything!” Of course you are, dear. I sold encyclopedias for a few weeks in college once. Among the things they told us was that the _No Salesmen_ sign should be considered a target based on the somewhat empirical data that suggested people who posted those signs were often the most vulnerable to a slick presentation. As in it worked more than it didn’t. It’s what the man said. ---
**Author:** ![abcdefghij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/43a26b/32.png) [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/54 "2020-01-16T10:44:29Z")
> [@Backwater\_Under\_Duck](#): > > I sold encyclopedias for a few weeks in college once. Among the things they told us was that the _No Salesmen_ sign should be considered a target based on the somewhat empirical data that suggested people who posted those signs were often the most vulnerable to a slick presentation. As in it worked more than it didn’t. It’s what the man said. My father briefly sold encyclopedias in the early 60s and was told the same thing ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/55 "2020-01-16T11:36:22Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > **IF** it was suspended, wouldn’t that make it difficult to get your Social Security payments? I wouldn’t think so. All they do is deposit it into your bank account (either your own bank or a provided debit card). You don’t need to show them your SS number or anything, and it is nowhere mentioned on any of the paperwork, paper or virtual. I could see it being a problem getting the thing started, but, once running, it seems to just work. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/56 "2020-01-16T18:55:35Z")
Is it better to light a Gwyneth Paltrow vaginal candle than to curse a scammer, I mean, the darkness? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/57 "2020-01-16T19:01:26Z")
> [@atimnie](#): > > _I just got a robocall…_ > > Any call not initiated by a real person is a scam. I never answer the phone, and if a voice mail is a robocall, I just delete. And these fucks can’t even leave a proper message, they always start before the beep, so you only get half the message, indicating that it’s a poorly run scam. Free money form Nigerian princes is more believable than these scams. My Pharmacy send out robocalls to tell me my prescriptions have been mailed. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/58 "2020-01-16T19:04:08Z")
> [@Anny\_Middon](#): > > Not necessarily. > > I signed up (online, I think) to start receiving my SS benefits. This would have been 4 years ago… I was talking about the IRS, My Bro worked for them for 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/59 "2020-01-16T20:20:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > My Pharmacy send out robocalls to tell me my prescriptions have been mailed. Mine did too for many years, but recently quit doing that. I wonder if it’s because of increased privacy scrutiny? Is your pharmacy still doing that? What was interesting was that those robo-calls were wise to answering machines. It somehow knew to wait for the beep. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2020, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365/60 "2020-01-16T23:24:51Z")
Hey, spotted a new scam today, you get a email from “amazon” saying your gift of a expensive TV is on the way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-social-security-administration-suspend-peoples-ss-s/846365.md?page=4)