10 area codes being targeted by Social Security scammers

Social Security scams are on the rise and people in 10 area codes are prime targets, according to a new report by Hiya, a caller ID and block service.

In fact, reports of scam attempts have increased 880% over the past year, according to Hiya.

Report: Here are the top 10 areas targeted by Social Security scammers

The top 10 areas affected by fraudulent calls all have a few things in common: None of them are in the South. Most are out West and Midwest and only two are on the East Coast.

Top 10 cities and area codes targeted by Social Security scams

Rank	Area Code	Location
1	301	Maryland
2	218	Minnesota
3	619	San Diego
4	312	Chicago
5	714	Anaheim, California
6	240	Maryland
7	480	Phoenix
8	303	Denver
9	806	Amarillo, Texas
10	702	Las Vegas

The scam works like this: A crook will call you from a spoofed phone number that looks like it originates with the Social Security Administration.

The caller claims that your SSN is suspended and that your account needs to be verified due to suspicious activity, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

The scammers have been known to call repeatedly. Instead of handing it over, here’s what you should do:

• Never divulge your personal info to anyone who calls you that you don’t know : Not any part of your Social Security number, your bank account or credit card number. Ever.
• Call the real Social Security Administration: The real SSA number is 1-800-772-1213. If you get a call claiming to be from that number, hang up and call the the SSA directly and confirm that it was actually them that called you.

Money expert Clark Howard says that if you suspect a fraudulent call, hang up and “call the number that you KNOW.”

If you want to report a scam call, you can do so by contacting the FTC at ftc.gov/complaint.

Here are some more articles you might enjoy from Clark.com:

• How to stop robocalls for good
• Can you stop unwanted calls by dialing *77?
• This simple strategy helped one man stop robocalls