The Office of the Inspector General of the Social Security Administration (SSA OIG) published an alert about scammers impersonating Social Security to charge for "activating" the cost of living adjustment (COLA) for 2027, a procedure that does not exist because the increase is applied completely automatically.
The notice comes days after the SSA confirmed a 3.6% increase for 2027, the largest since 2023, which will benefit 76 million Americans.
According to the OIG alert, impostors contact their victims via phone, text message, email, social media, or postal mail, impersonating employees of the SSA or other federal agencies.
Once contact is established, the deception can take various forms: demanding payment of a fee to "unlock" the increase, instructing the recipient to change their direct deposit account, or convincing them to provide personal or financial information.
The tactics to appear legitimate are sophisticated. The agency warns that scammers may use real names and titles of government employees, send fake documents that look official, or mention personal details about the victim to gain their trust. Some also send links to websites that imitate official portals or request the download of malicious software.
The central message from the OIG is clear: "Social Security beneficiaries do not need to register, apply, or activate the increase in any way; the COLA is automatic."
The increase will start to be reflected in retirement, disability, and survivor payments in January 2027. Recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) will receive it earlier, on December 31, 2026, because January 1 is a holiday.
Those who wish to know their new amount without waiting for the paper notice can check it through their personal account on my Social Security starting in late November. To access the online notice, they must have created their account and activated electronic notifications no later than November 18, 2026.
In the event of any suspicious contact, the OIG recommends stopping and being cautious: "Stop. Think about the scam. Be skeptical if you receive a call, a text message, an email, a message on social media, or a letter."
Anyone who suspects they have been contacted by an impostor can report it at ssa.gov/scam or by calling the OIG fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271, available Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Hialeah Police warned last Tuesday about fake agents who demand money to avoid arrests, a scheme that follows the same pattern of government impersonation.
In April, the agency had already warned about a new wave of impostors who were using real names of SSA employees and counterfeit credentials.
Eighty-one percent of the complaints received by the OIG between April and June 2026 involved someone pretending to represent the SSA or the OIG itself.
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