Wicomico Co. officials warning of recent phone scams

WICOMICO CO., Md. – Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes has been made aware of several instances in which local citizens have been contacted by individuals claiming to be from the Social Security Administration or other federal agencies, seeking money.

Officials say the victims of these frauds are told that they are under investigation and that they must provide money in the form of a gift card, pre-paid debit card, or wire transfer to the federal government, and are promised that they will get their money back once their name is cleared. In many instances, the criminals will demand the victim stay on the phone with them until they provide a gift card number.

The federal government will always contact you by U.S. Postal Service, along with a contact number for you to contact them at your convenience. It is recommended that if you are not the person initiating the contact, you should never provide information such as your name, date of birth, social security number, or banking information.

Officials advise that if you end up on the phone with a similar scam, ask for the caller’s name and contact formation and tell them that you will be forwarding that information to the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General.

You can also report scam calls from people claiming to be from the Social Security Administration here.