No one takes Social Security fraud lightly, least of all the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration (SSA). When he was appointed to the position in 2004, former Secret Service Agent Patrick P. O'Carroll Jr. made preventing and investigating fraud one of his top priorities.
As evidence that those priorities are being put into practice, there are now five ways to alert the Social Security Administration to a suspected fraud, making the initial contact with the government organization easy and quick. Each of these ways comes under the auspices of what is called The Fraud Hotline.
Regardless of your age, your ability or where you live, you can communicate your allegations of fraud to the SSA. Here are the five ways to get in touch with the Fraud Hotline and report your problem or suspicions of a problem:
By Phone: The Inspector General's Fraud Hotline at (800) 269-0271; staffed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST.
By Fax: The Inspector General's Fax Hotline at (410) 597-0118.
By Mail: Social Security Fraud Hotline, P.O. Box 17768, Baltimore, Maryland, 21235.
By TTY for deaf or hard of hearing: (866) 501-2101.
By Online Form: https://www.socialsecurity.gov/oig/public_fraud_reporting/form.htm.
The SSA's Inspector General uses this hotline to investigate a variety of violations, such as false claims for benefits, misuse of benefits, black market trading of Social Security numbers, illegal activity by Social Security employees, online and mail fraud, impersonating a Social Security employee, and even links between Social Security scams and terrorist groups. The staff of the Fraud Hotline cannot assist with general questions about benefits, however. Those inquiries should be directed to the main SSA office at (800) 772-1213 or http://www.socialsecurity.gov/reach.htm.- In order for the SSA Inspector General to investigate an alleged fraud, the staff will need to have some very specific information. When you contact the Fraud Hotline, be prepared to offer as many details as you have available including the suspect's name and contact information, the victim's name and contact information, the time frame and location the suspected fraud took place, plus the method and the motive. You can remain anonymous and still report a fraud, though this may affect the thoroughness of the investigation.
The reward for reporting Social Security fraud is simply the knowledge that you did the right thing. No monetary compensation is offered, and you may never know if your report resulted in an investigation or arrest. That's because the Inspector General is prohibited by law from revealing records of a case, even to the person who first reported it. "Under no circumstances will we provide you with the 'status' of action taken on the allegation," state reporting guidelines on the website of the Inspector General at http://www.ssa.gov/oig/hotline/index.htm.
Despite its secrecy, this system has had some success in identifying fraud. According to the Inspector General's annual report, more than $370 million was recovered in 2008.
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