A text or call says you must apply, confirm your details or pay a fee to receive your cost-of-living increase. The real increase is automatic. Here's how to spot the scam and what to do.
Every fall, Social Security announces its cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), and every fall scammers use the news to pitch a “bigger check.” The texts, calls, letters and ads say you must confirm your details, apply, or pay a fee to receive or “boost” your increase. Money reported on September 25, 2026 that the Social Security Administration's Office of the Inspector General (SSA OIG) confirmed these offers are part of a seasonal rise in reported fraud. (Money) The real increase needs nothing from you.
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Check it with ShieldrThe warning is not new, which is part of why it keeps working: SSA OIG has put out the same alert in October of different years, and the scam returns the moment the new COLA is in the news.
SSA OIG says scammers impersonate the Social Security Administration and other agencies, mostly by phone but also by text, email, social media or mail. They claim you can get a benefit increase, a cost-of-living adjustment or extra money if you apply or set up an online account, and the messages often link to a fake SSA website with fake contact details. Their aim is to steal personal and financial information, take money, or put malware on your phone. (SSA OIG, 2022) A message might read like this:
Phone versions work the same way. An SSA OIG fact sheet describes callers who say you are owed a cost-of-living increase and ask you to confirm your name, birth date and Social Security number to “process” it. With those details, scammers can contact Social Security pretending to be you and try to change your direct deposit, address or phone number. (SSA OIG fact sheet) That last step is the real prize: a rerouted deposit means your actual monthly benefit lands in the scammer's account.
The COLA is automatic. You never have to apply, pay, or confirm anything to get it. SSA OIG's October 2024 alert says exactly that: beneficiaries “do not need to take any action” to receive the legitimate increase. The notices arrive by mail starting in December, people with a my Social Security account can read theirs online, and the higher amount shows up in payments in January. In 2024 Social Security announced the increase on October 10, so expect the next announcement in October. (SSA OIG, October 2024)
Social Security's own pressure rules also help. SSA OIG's “Never Ever” messaging says government agencies will never suspend your Social Security number, ask you to move money to protect it, ask for your banking information, or demand payment in gold bars, gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfers, payment apps or cash. (SSA OIG scam trends report, April–June 2026) A text that does any of those things is not from Social Security.
SSA OIG's advice if you've been scammed: stop communicating with the scammer, contact your financial institutions, and file a police report. (SSA OIG) Beyond that, what to do depends on what you gave them. The FTC's guidance: (FTC)
Share the text, email or screenshot to Shieldr. It reads the message, checks any link against Google's list of known malicious sites, and answers safe, suspicious or scam with a one-sentence reason. It's one more check before you tap anything, not a guarantee: your own my Social Security account is always the final word.
Get Shieldr on the App StoreNo. SSA OIG says the COLA is automatic and beneficiaries do not need to take any action. Notices are mailed starting in December and the higher payment arrives in January. Anyone who texts, calls or emails asking you to apply, pay or confirm details to get it is a scammer.
Treat any unexpected message about an increase as a scam. SSA OIG says to ignore unsolicited offers, never click the link, and to contact Social Security directly using contact information you looked up yourself, such as 1-800-772-1213.
Report it to the SSA Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report or 1-800-269-0271, and at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. You can also forward the text to 7726 (SPAM). If you lost money, also file at ic3.gov.
Related: the jury duty scam and the police impersonation scam, two more fake-official scams, and the Medicare open enrollment scam.