Youtube stars stole social security benefits

Ennis, a 57-year-old lawyer, oversees a nationwide staff of 525 who work to prevent and detect waste, fraud and abuse in Social Security programs and operations. Most Office of Inspector

General employees are investigators and auditors. The agency is an independent government watchdog located across the street from Social Security headquarters in Woodlawn, Maryland, outside

Baltimore. Ennis took the reins of the agency in January 2019, marking her first government job after years as a corporate attorney. As she tells it, fraudsters also are secretive: Some are

nameless, faceless and avoid using traditional banks. Some are overseas. Some are known only by an internet protocol (IP) address, a numeric address given every computer device connected to

the internet that can be hard to trace, she says. "My mantra is prevention and detection are a whole lot easier … than it is to catch the bad guys,” she says. FRAUD'S IMPACT IS

WIDESPREAD According to Ennis, the public can help fight fraud, which she says frightens victims, hurts taxpayers and ties up resources that could be used, for example, to help people begin

legitimate claims for benefits. Take the problem of so-called “misdirected” benefits, which sees criminals change recipients’ direct-deposit information and steal their money.

"It's theft, really,” Ennis says. There were 20,658 cases reported in the five years ending in 2017, a recent OIG audit report says. Though a small number in light of the roughly

68 million benefit payments Social Security makes monthly, Ennis says it's “not a good thing” for victims. How do criminals get their hands on sensitive data, such as Social Security

numbers and dates of birth, in their bid to steal your benefits? Data breaches are one avenue, Ennis says. According to a 2012 OIG report, some victims said they were told they had won a

lottery, but needed to divulge private information before receiving the prize. Some had had wallets or credit cards lost or stolen. Others gave information to someone claiming to be from the

government. With Social Security impostor scams soaring, Ennis has simple advice: Don't take the call. And everyone age 18 and older should open an online my Social Security account

using a strong password, she stresses. About 46 million people have created an account, just a fraction of the more than 200 million eligible. In some cases, bad actors will initiate

accounts for people ages 62 and older and start drawing their retirement benefits without the victims’ knowledge, she says. More advice: * Do not routinely carry your Social Security card

and never say the number aloud in public. * Beware of phishing, which tries to induce you to reveal sensitive information such as passwords and credit card numbers. It can be in an email,

web link or phone call. * Be aware most emails from Social Security are sent from an address ending in “.gov” If you get one that doesn't, don't open attachments or click on links

or photos. Be advised there are fake websites that pretend to direct you to Social Security, but don't. * If you're extra wary, consider a Social Security eServices block to

prevent anyone, even you, from seeing or changing your information on the internet. To remove the block, you or your representative must visit a field office in person.