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October 16, 2026

Social Security COLA Scams: How to Spot a Fake Raise Message

Every fall, Social Security announces whether benefits will get a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in the new year, and how big it will be. For anyone who gets a monthly check, it is some of the most-watched news of the year.

Scammers watch it too. Around the announcement, some people get a phone call, a text, an email, or even an official-looking letter saying they need to do something to get their raise: confirm their Social Security number, call a toll-free number to "activate" the increase, or pay a fee.

If one of those is in front of you right now, here is the answer first.

The short answer: you do not have to do anything to get your COLA

Social Security's Office of the Inspector General, the agency's own fraud watchdog, has put it plainly: "The annual cost-of-living increases issued by SSA are ALWAYS automatic. No additional information is required for you to receive the legitimate COLA increase." You can read that in the Inspector General's scam alert.

Social Security's own scam warning page lists, as one of the common tactics scammers use, claiming "to need personal information or payment to activate a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) or other benefit increase." So a message that asks you to verify, activate, or pay for your increase is showing you a known scam sign.

What the fake messages tend to look like

  • A phone call. Someone says they are from Social Security, tells you that you are due a cost-of-living increase, and asks you to confirm your name, date of birth, and Social Security number so it can be paid. The Inspector General has warned about this exact call.
  • A letter in the mail. The Inspector General has also warned about fake letters designed to look like real Social Security letterhead, telling people to call a toll-free number to activate their increase.
  • A text, email, or social media message. Social Security says it will never ask for sensitive or personal information through social media, email, or text message. A text asking for your Social Security number or bank details is not one to answer.
  • A promise of extra money. Talk of a special bonus payment, or a raise much bigger than the official one, is often the hook. In 2024 the Inspector General warned about false claims of a $600 June increase that did not exist.

Why they want your details

In its warning about the COLA phone calls, the Inspector General explains what happens when an impersonator gets someone's information: "they use it to contact us and request changes to the victim's direct deposit, address, and telephone information." In other words, the call about your raise can be a first step toward trying to redirect your benefit payments.

Red flags to watch for

  • You are told you must do something before you can receive your increase.
  • Someone who contacted you out of the blue asks for your Social Security number, bank details, or a payment, especially to "activate" or release your increase.
  • You are told to pay with a gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, a prepaid debit card, gold, or cash in the mail. Social Security says scammers insist on these because they are hard to trace.
  • You are rushed, or told your Social Security number or account will be suspended.
  • You are offered a transfer straight to Social Security or its Inspector General. In July 2026, Social Security warned that legitimate companies and other agencies cannot transfer your call directly to it, and that if someone claims they can, it is a scam.
  • The caller tells you to trust them because the caller ID shows Social Security or another government office. Social Security warns that scammers fake official government phone numbers, so caller ID cannot prove who is calling.

How to check what is real

You can always check for yourself. The key is to use contact details you look up on your own, never the ones in the message.

  1. Go online yourself. Type ssa.gov into your browser rather than tapping a link. If you have a my Social Security account, sign in at ssa.gov/myaccount. Last year, Social Security made COLA notices available in the Message Center of most of these accounts in late November.
  2. Call Social Security directly at 1-800-772-1213, or TTY 1-800-325-0778 if you are deaf or hard of hearing. That is the agency's own toll-free number. Do not call a number printed in a letter, text, or email you were not expecting.
  3. Wait for the official notice. Your notice about the new amount comes from Social Security, by mail or in your online account. The increase itself does not depend on you answering any call, text, or letter.

If someone has you on the phone right now, you do not need to argue or explain. You can say this and hang up:

"I don't give out my information on calls I didn't make. I'll contact Social Security myself."

If you already gave information or money

Please do not wait, and do not feel embarrassed. In Social Security's own words, criminal behavior is not your fault. These steps come from Social Security's scam page and the FTC.

  • If you gave your Social Security number or other personal details: sign in to your my Social Security account, or create one. Social Security says having an account helps stop identity thieves from opening one in your name, and that you will get an alert right away if anyone tries to change your address or direct deposit without your permission.
  • Report identity theft at IdentityTheft.gov to get a free recovery plan, and contact the credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) to add a fraud alert to your credit report.
  • If you gave bank or card details, or sent money: call your bank or card company using the number on the back of your card or on your statement, and tell them what happened.
  • If you gave a password: change it, and change it anywhere else you used the same one.
  • Report the scam to Social Security's Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report, and to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
  • If you are 60 or older and would like help reporting, the Justice Department runs a free National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311, Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern. The hotline has itself warned that scammers sometimes pretend to be calling from it, so dial the number yourself rather than trusting a call that claims to come from it.

If a message about your benefits is sitting on your phone and you are not sure about it, you can paste it into Shieldle for a second opinion before you reply. It is one more check, not a guarantee. The safest step is still the same one: contact Social Security yourself, using a number or address you looked up on your own.