It’s tax season, and for many Americans, that means receiving alerts from the Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service about deadlines, benefits and new credits.

Unfortunately, this is also peak hunting season for cybercriminals who target retirees and vulnerable beneficiaries.

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“Fraudsters continue to bombard the public with deceptive calls, texts, emails, social media messages and even physical mail — all designed to steal money or personal information,” states a recent report from the Office of the Inspector General (1).

With this in mind, one of the safest things you can do is immediately delete any form of digital communication you may receive from the Social Security Administration (SSA) before taking one more additional step to keep your account secure.

Here’s why this two-step process could safeguard your valuable information and financial security.

Online fraud is a rapidly escalating problem.

In 2024, American consumers collectively lost $12.5 billion to fraud, a 25% increase from the previous year, according to the Federal Trade Commission (2). And while that total pertains to general fraud, a lot of this damage was done online.

“For the second consecutive year, email was the most common way that consumers reported being contacted by scammers,” states the Federal Trade Commission. “Phone calls were the second most commonly reported contact method for fraud in 2024, followed by text messages.”

Although investment fraud was found to be the most common and financially-damaging category, imposter fraud is a close second with $2.95 billion in reported losses. In 2024, criminals pretending to represent high-profile government agencies created $789 million in losses for victims across the country.

Most of these imposter scams follow a similar pattern: A notification pops up on your laptop or phone suggesting your benefits have been “suspended,” your account was flagged for “unusual activity,” your tax information is “incomplete” or your identity must be “verified.” This alert may even include images or personal details that act as proof, creating a sense of trust in the victim.

There’s also usually a prompt to create some urgency; the message could threaten fines, penalties or account suspension if you don’t respond within a certain deadline. This trick is used to create panic so that victims act before they have time to think.

Fortunately, there’s a simple two-step process to mitigate this risk.

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The safest course of action is to simply delete any unsolicited text messages, emails or popups on a computer that you may receive from a government agency. This limits the risk of you accidentally clicking on a malware link or alerting a potential scammer to the fact that your phone number or email address is active.

There is, however, a drawback to this step as it may lead you to unintentionally deleting a legitimate message from a government agency. That’s why the second step in this process — independent verification — is so important.

For example, if you receive a text message or email from the SSA suggesting your account information isn’t up to date, delete the message, go to SSA.gov and sign into your my Social Security account to verify and update your information independently.

This two-step, delete-then-verify process can significantly mitigate the risk of falling victim to a cyber crime, while also allowing you to investigate and verify any legitimate alerts from government agencies.

Phone calls are a little more tricky because you can’t delete them as you would an email or text message, and with today’s elaborate scams, it can be difficult to tell whether a caller is a legitimate government agency rep or an experienced scammer.

“Social Security employees do contact the public by telephone for business purposes,” confirms the SSA on its website (3), which means hanging up right away may not be the best idea.

A better approach would be to extract information from the caller without giving any of your own. Ask the caller why they’re calling, which department they work for and if they have any proof of identification. Make sure you don’t give away any personal information such as Social Security numbers, date of birth, location or employment history during this conversation.

Once you know the reason for the call, hang up and call the agency using a verified phone number to confirm if the call you received is legitimate. This protocol isn’t foolproof, but it’s likely safer than simply discussing personal details with your first point of contact.

Scammers thrive on urgency and confusion, and tax season is a unique time of year that can naturally provide both. Any unexpected message claiming to be from Social Security should be treated as hostile by default. Delete it, then verify any issues raised through official channels.

In an era of AI-generated fraud and mass phishing attempts, caution is no longer optional; it’s a basic form of financial self defense.

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Office of the Inspector General (1); Federal Trade Commission (2); Social Security Administration (3).

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.