Social Security Warns of Hoax Solicitations

The Social Security Administration is to issue a special alert today to senior citizens to beware of hoax solicitations promising additional federal benefits and/or $5,000 in slave reparations in exchange for sensitive private information.

The alert comes from the agency’s Office of the Inspector General, which recently completed an investigation that found that more than 29,000 people around the country were duped by anonymous fliers posted in churches, nursing homes and senior centers. The fliers seek birth dates and Social Security numbers which authorities believe are used to create false identities.