The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued an urgent warning to the public about a highly sophisticated new government imposter scam. The scheme involves mailing official-looking letters on fake U.S. Supreme Court letterhead, complete with forged signatures of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
The fraudulent mail, identified as a “certificate,” is personally addressed to the recipient and is designed to create extreme panic. The letter falsely claims the individual is a primary suspect connected with legal proceedings and serious criminal charges.
The scam is a high-pressure attempt to coerce the recipient into sending money or sharing sensitive personal information. In a major escalation of intimidation tactics, the fake message ominously claims that the Supreme Court has requested financial institutions to freeze all of the recipient’s assets. The letter urges the individual to “cooperate” with a named SSA official to resolve the alleged proceedings.
Acting Inspector General Michelle L. Anderson strongly denounced the deceptive operation. “On every level this letter is completely false,” stated Anderson. “Scammers continue to exploit fear and confusion by impersonating government agencies and officials. These criminals are falsely accusing an individual of a crime and using federal agencies and federal officials to try to scare and legitimize their scam.”
The SSA OIG is urging anyone who receives this type of letter to disregard it immediately, tear it up, and report the scam to the authorities.
The warning emphasizes that government agencies, including the Supreme Court and the SSA, do not conduct official business in this manner or demand money or sensitive information under threat of arrest or asset seizure.
Protect yourself, friends, and family — If you receive a suspicious call, text, email, social media message, or letter from someone claiming to be from Social Security:
- Remain calm. If you receive a communication that causes a strong emotional response, take a deep breath. Talk to someone you trust.
- Hang up or ignore the message. Do not click on links or attachments.
- Protect your money. Scammers will insist that you pay with a gift card, prepaid debit card, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, money transfer, or by mailing cash. Scammers use these forms of payment because they are hard to trace.
- Protect your personal information. Be cautious of any contact claiming to be from a government agency or law enforcement telling you about a problem you don’t recognize, even if the caller has some of your personal information.
- Spread the word to protect your community from scammers.
- Report the scam to the Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report.
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