From the Office of Personnel Management (OPM):
3/15/2017 Be on the Alert for an aggressive phone scam that targets Federal annuitants: The scammer claims to be an OPM employee. The scammer threatens to end the annuitant’s retirement, threatens that a “magistrate” will criminally prosecute, and demands an immediate payment. This is a government imposter scam – Do not send money.
Any communication of this type is NOT from an OPM official. OPM will not make such calls. Scams like this one are carried out by skilled imposters, who may sound convincing. They may use real names and titles – and they may know a lot about their targets, including personally identifiable information. The scammers may alter the caller ID to make it look like OPM is calling. Scammers may also attempt to use email to “phish” for more information. Finally, these imposters may leave an “urgent” callback request. Don’t fall for it.
Signs of a SCAM (and these are actions OPM does NOT do):
- Call to demand immediate payment.
- Demand that you pay a debt first before any appeal.
- Request that you pay using gift cards, prepaid debit or credit cards, wire transfers, Western Union, MoneyGram, or PayPal, etc.
- Request for credit or debit card numbers over the phone or by email.
- Threaten referral to a Magistrate, the police, or law enforcement.
If you suspect the caller is an imposter:
- Do not engage with the callers. Simply hang-up.
- Note the date and time of the call, as well as the caller’s phone number.
- Report it to OPM’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG),https://www.opm.gov/our-inspector-general/
For Help and to Report suspected fraud:
- Call the OIG Hotline: 877-499-7295.
- Click to report online, Hotline Complaint Form
- Write:OPM OIG
1900 E Street NW, Room 6400
Washington, DC 20415-1100
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a report on government imposter scams, https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0048-government-imposter-scams. You may also report suspected fraud to the FTC athttps://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/
Source: Retirement Info Center
Uh-Oh, it looks like you submitted a comment but it didn\’t properly save! We don\’t want to miss what you wrote, please try to submit it again so we can read what you wanted to say. If that still doesn\’t work, please send an email regarding the error to webmaster@opm.gov so we can try to fix the issue.
How could anybody fall for such a totally dumb scam? Better to drive these con-artists crazy. Waste their time by telling them that your real name is Mike Hunt and call back when my wife Opthella Krak-Hunt get home later,as only she hands over money. Then ask them to hold on,as your refrigerator is running,and you have to CATCH IT!! After that sing to them DEVO’s”Mongoloid”,to the very top of lung. Finally top it all off,by blow a whistle or bullhorn,in the bastards eardrums!!
Since I’m a new retiree I welcome this warning. Indeed, it’s getting very risky out there doing almost anything. I avoid using credit cards as much as possible, only for certain music purchases or a few other needs I won’t mention because I don’t want some piece of shit scammer/hacker to visit that type of webpage looking for another victim.
It’s a very safe idea actually to never believe anybody who demands payment over the phone these days. They piggy back legitimate numbers, email addresses and logos from trusted companies all the time. Just the other day I got an email that I didn’t open, having seen this crap before that looked like a very credible UPS email concerning an “expected shipment”. Well, being a retired postal employee, unless I have no choice I don’t use UPS or FedEx, and have no orders with either. I’ve seen hackers use the FedEx logo too, and two people close in my life have had their email addresses high jacked to send links to Nutra System. I think I may report that the next time I see one. Either NutraSystem is behind this spamming or knows who is. Marie Osmond, their exceptionally irritating no talent shill can go to Hell.
And the older we get, the more the sharks circle. Keep your mind active, read a lot, travel, or whatever to keep your mind sharp as possible and don’t trust anybody outside your most intimate inner circle, family, close relatives, friends. This world sees its people as suckers, but we don’t have to fall victim. Report as OPM suggests threats to them, and your state Attorney General’s office. You probably won’t see immediate results but when enough people file complaints, they have much more solid cases and are more successful tracking down this cyber crime. And as the web site says, NEVER give them your personal information, whatever you do. And don’t use your credit cards any more than you have to to keep them active. My wife and I use one card that we’ve had good luck with, especially when they detect fraudulent charges, including the ones that I supposedly made for $14,000 for first class seating on El Al Airlines to Abu Dhabi. That is an absolutely true story, and luckily the credit card company was on it. At least I was going first class.
Thank you for the information.