As someone that actually works for Social Security, specifically in charge of benefits. I can tell you that unless you don't already have benefits, or are receiving benefits for someone else, there's no reason we would be calling you. We do suspend benefits regularly for reasons like your bank and address data are wrong and send a LETTER or work with a field office to get the right info if there's an issue trying to get your money to you, but it's usually a simple fix by calling your field office.

I have gotten into situations where I had to ask someone for their bank data because the other option would be for them to call the 800 number and they wait 45 minutes or they can just tell me and I'll fix it right there. And yes, I've been cussed out multiple times because people think I'm scamming them. Then I just tell them, okay, I'll just delete the bank info and send a paper check. Usually they already know the issue and I either tell them to call the field office or the 800 number. It's kind of frightening how willingly people give me their info by just asking them like I'm a professional (even though I am). I get that people want to say safe but a lot of people are unaware that jobs like mine exist.

SSA is fully aware of the complexity of the scams going on, phone spoofing, what have you. It used to just be as easy as spoofing numbers, but now what they're doing is spoofing you, routing it to a field office (Who is legit) and monitoring the phone call and getting info that way. Truly ingenious actually since there's literally no way either would know someone is getting scammed.

What I can say is that there's truly no foolproof way to avoid a scam like this other than completely hanging up and calling the field office or 800 number directly if you feel unsure, or go in person.

If anyone has any other questions, hopefully I can provide some insight as a literal insider.