Founded in 1975, JABA is Central Virginia’s leading provider of information and services for seniors

Our Mission is to add dignity, security, independence and fulfillment to the lives of older adults and their families.

My Home For Life™

Helping Your Loved Ones Age in Place

Scam Alert: fake e-mails from Social Security Circulating

The Social Security Administration has received reports of an email message being

circulated with the subject “Cost-of-Living for 2007 update” and

purporting to be from the Social Security Administration. The original message

provided information about the 3.3 percent benefit increase for 2007

and contains the following “NOTE: We now need you to update your

personal information. If this is not completed by November 11, 2006, we

will be forced to suspend your account indefinitely.” The reader is

then directed to a website designed to look like Social Security’s

Internet website.

Subsequent e-mails may have noted later dates than November 11 as deadlines.

Once directed to the phony website, the individual is asked to register

for a password and to confirm his or her identity by providing personal

information such as Social Security number, bank

account information and credit card information.

No

matter how "official" an e-mail appears to be, JABA urges all internet

users to NEVER give out your Social Security number or other personal

information over the telephone unless you made the call, and to NEVER

click on a link in an e-mail that asks for such personal information.

To

report receipt of this email message or other suspicious activity to

Social Security’s Office of Inspector General, please call the OIG

Hotline at 1-800-269-0271. (If you are deaf or hard of hearing, call

the OIG TTY number at 1-866-501-2101). A Public Fraud Reporting form is

also available online at OIG’s website; you can get to that site by clicking here.