Elderly warned about Social Security scams
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Elderly Americans should be careful about giving out their Social Security numbers, officials warned Tuesday after arresting a man who sent out letters offering an extra check to senior citizens who send back money or their bank account and Social Security numbers.
"People should be really cautious about who they give their personal information to, especially their Social Security number," said Social Security Administration spokeswoman Cathy Noe.
Special agents from the Social Security inspector general's office arrested Anthony David Williams, 32, in Phoenix Monday night. Williams is accused of misrepresenting himself as a government employee to defraud retirees and disabled Americans receiving Social Security benefits. He is charged with mail fraud.
Calls to Phoenix phone numbers associated with Williams' businesses and to his lawyer on Tuesday were not immediately returned.
Williams allegedly mailed out letters on a likeness of Social Security stationery, often following up with phone calls, according to an affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix.
"According to our records you are entitled to receive an additional check from Social Security each month," one version of the letter said. "These extra income benefits could give you up to an additional $514 per month."
Recipients were asked to send a "filing fee" of varying amounts up to $23, or to fill out a form including their Social Security and bank account numbers so the fee could be "automatically deducted."
The mailings were signed by "Donald Jenkins" of the "Winning Advantage Program, SSI-SSA" -- an alias used by Williams, who is British but applied last year to become a permanent U.S. legal resident.
Social Security recipients usually do get letters from the government when their benefits go up. Other legitimate mailings that people get from Social Security include a new statement of taxes paid and future benefits due, which every American worker over age 25 will receive by the end of next year.
"But we never ask for money for a processing fee," said Noe.
The federal government also does not normally ask for someone's Social Security number -- they already know it. Indeed, Social Security prints that number as an identifier on mailings about a person's benefits.
Social Security numbers are the most widely used ID in the private sector as well -- requested on the forms people fill out for everything from college registrations to bank slips.
The British Empire has had a long lasting and strong influence on the American colonies for over three centuries. From the 16th century all the way to the 18th century, the British empire has held power within the colonies in terms of legislature, economy, and social stature. The British’s rule has been both a positive and negative driving force
“The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.” Of the three major colonizers who vied for control of North America from the 15th to 17th centuries, it was the early-bird Spanish who got the worm, but after all was said and done, it was England who got the more desirable cheese. After 1763, the English had control of all land east of the Mississippi river and virtually all of present-day Canada. The English were able to gain the upper hand in the conflict for control of North America not only because of military victories, but also because of good timing.
about giving up my social security number at school, at work or anywhere else I'm asked
Social security is a benefit program that was established in 1935 by Franklin Roosevelt. The program is a system in which workers pool a portion of their wages. These wages are paid to retired people on a monthly basis. The idea of the program is to protect each other and their families against wage loss when they retire. The ideas of social security benefits were intended to supplement pensions, and personal savings for retired people.
In recent years, the shameful subject of elder abuse has gained more awareness among community members. In particular, the complexity of elder financial abuse often makes manipulative dealings by fraudsters difficult to identify and separate from actual permissive transactions made by older victims. The result is that these cases are very rarely prosecuted and many other undetected cases continue to fall far below the radar of society. The consequences of financial exploitation of older adults are reaching far beyond the immediate distress of financial depletion. Victims may also experience declines in physical and mental health as well as the risk of a decrease in life expectancy (Kemp & Mosqueda, 2005). The purpose of the following studies is to address the issue of financial exploitation of elder adults through the means of intervention, prosecution, prevention, and correlation between different forms of abuse.
The most controversial view expressed in the articles was the opinion that a college education is not necessarily worth the cost anymore. In the article most opposed to accessible college education, Charles Murray, the author of the book The Bell Curve, describes why he believes that too many people are going to college. He points out the obvious flaws in the system, in particular that access to a college education has become available to people who may not have the ability to excel on a college campus. The article ends with Murray describing what the post secondary system looks like to an outsider, which he calls flawed from the very start by article ends with Murray stating that “there must be a better way” (242). Some may say that this better way may be
North America in the early eighteenth century was split between the three major imperial powers of the time, Great Britain, France and Spain. This period was a crucial moment in the colonial history of these three powers due to the expanding nature of their colonies, constantly looking to grab more land and resources for the nation at home. However, before the turn of the century, Great Britain had gone from a few colonies on the east coast of the continent, with the smallest amount of land claimed, to owning the largest part of the New World and obtaining almost complete control over North America. This dominance was not caused by the downfall of France or Spain’s colonies, at least not through their own fault. But rather through Britain’s
Feminism is a political movement that seeks equality between the sexes. Motivated by the search for social justice, feminist analysis provides a wide range of perspectives on social, cultural, economic, and political ideologies. Important topics for feminist politics and theory include: the body, class and work, family life, globalization, human rights, popular culture, race and racism, reproduction, sex work, human trafficking, and sexuality. From early beginnings, to its current state, feminism has been a pervasive movement that has incited social, political and economic change and advancements. Generationally speaking, over the decades feminism has taken on many different meanings. Feminism has become a spectrum; each generation, or wave,
Social security, the federal retirement system, is one of the most popular government programs in United State?s history. Today, Social Security benefits are the backbone of the nation's retirement income system. The long road to the successful development of social security began in 1935. Before 1935, very few workers received job pensions. Those workers that were covered never received benefits because they were not guaranteed.
I guarantee you that.” This is a woman who is doing very well for herself and is pretty high up there. She even says that standardized tests don’t really do anything for you, or your future.With that being stated we go back to how standardized testing does not work. On May 26, 2011, A National Research Council report found no evidence test-based incentive programs are working: "Despite using them for several decades, policymakers and educators do not yet know how to use test-based incentives to consistently generate positive effects on achievement and to improve education." What this means is that educators and policymakers are just shooting in the dark. They don’t have for sure test or anything of the sort that can consistently gives the results that they want. So what would make them give a test that is fifty fifty on whether or not students have learned “what is
...earned dollars are not contributing to help the rightful recipients, but instead it is going straight to the pocket of individuals that are abusing the system and could care less about violating the law. Committing any welfare fraud is illegal and whoever chooses to break the law will be punished. “The Department of Human Services (DHS) may hold an administrative hearing, bring criminal charges or ask you to voluntarily sign a disqualification agreement if you are suspected of fraud. You will have to pay DHS back and will also be disqualified from receiving benefits for 1 to 10 years” (“Welfare” 2). Bringing criminal charges on recipients that are misusing and abusing the system is fair. It is a serious matter that needs to be taken seriously. It is stealing from the tax payers and taking away assistance from individuals that doubtlessly need the assistance.
Richard A. Gephardt, Being Careful with Social Security [article online], Newsweek Inc. Accessed 15 January 1997; Page A19. Social Security Administration. Available from http://www.ssa.gov
This shows that identity theft is a growing problem that needs to be addressed (VanderPal). The United States Department of Justice, a branch of the United States government, defines identity theft as “terms used to refer to all types of crime in which someone wrongfully obtains and uses another person's personal data in some way that involves fraud or deception, typically for economic gain.” Identitytheft.info, a website edited by Rob Douglas, an identity theft expert, states, “…every individual or business is vulnerable to attack when it comes to personal or corporate information, products and services.” They also state, “As the methods used to perform identity theft expand, so do the types of accounts and services being stolen by identity thieves” (“Identity Theft Statistics”). As shown above, millions of people are being affected by identity theft in the United States, and it is only
According to SHRM.org, there are huge possibilities for someone to steal your information and you become a victim of an online identity theft.
Social Security was founded on the idea that those who work extensively and hard should not become impoverished due to retirement or disability, nor should their families suffer in the event of early death. As the nation’s income protection program, Social Security supports families, not just individuals. Children, youth, and grandfamilies (grandparents and other relatives raising children) increasingly rely on Social Security as a safeguard against poverty, however their voices are often overlooked. More than 6.5 million children in the United States receive part of their family income from Social Security. One thirds of the 50 million people who receive Social Security benefits today is younger than age 65. If Social Security didn’t exist, the older generations would stay in their positions even longer not allowing for the younger generations to take their places in the workforce.