Beware of Social Security benefit increase scam: SSA is warning citizens of misinformation fraud
As fake news about extra Social Security benefits and tax credits creates confusion, the Social Security Administration warns citizens of misinformation.
While Google Discover offers a convenient way to access a newsfeed tailored to your interests, users should be aware that not all content that makes it into these feeds is accurate. Content creators, driven by profit over an interest in informing the public, are infiltrating the algorithm with clickbait and false news.
A disturbing trend emerges when examining the articles that populate Google Discover on finance-related topics. Among the reputable news pieces, one finds a trove of articles peddling fake tax credits and benefit programs.
The dangers of misinformation on Google Discover
For beneficiaries of federal programs, like Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), or SNAP, any news about potential changes that could affect their benefits, whether positive or negative, is of utmost importance. Exploiting this vulnerability and interest, some outlets are publishing fake stories with headlines that are sure to entice. Google’s inability to filter out these stories means they continue proliferating, potentially causing the beneficiaries confusion and anxiety when what they are looking for is credible information about the state of their benefits.
Over the last few weeks, some articles that have been promoted on Google Discover include, La Grada’s “Social Security benefit increase in June: Retirees will get an extra $600” and Tododisca’s “Social Security changes amount for retirees and disability beneficiaries in June.”
The tactics used by these outlets to entice readers
Both La Grada and Tododisca are English-language versions of Spanish-run news sites. However, there are others that readers should also be on the lookout for, as their tactics are similarly deceptive. Yahoo! News also called attention to two other outlets, Marca and Times Now, that spread fake stories about an $8,700 tax credit that supposedly millions could claim from the IRS. No such credit has been approved by Congress, and its sending is contingent on that fact.
SSA confirms that claims that an additional $600 payment will be sent in June are false
As for the claim by La Grada that some Social Security beneficiaries will receive an additional check worth $600 this month, this news is entirely false. Additionally, after the first paragraph, the details on the $600 payment are never provided. After seeing articles like this and the confusion it caused, the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General issued a rare statement clarifying that the news was false and that no additional payments of this size would be sent. “Scammers are circulating misinformation around a $600 fake Social Security benefit increase that they are alleging will be issued in June 2024,” reported the SSA, adding that “any information regarding a current $600 increase is false and should be ignored.”
La Grada capitalized on the press release from the SSA’s Inspector General and has published two articles on the ‘rumored $600 payment:’
In neither of these articles does the outlet issue a correction or come close to admitting that it was one of the agencies that put out these false stories in the first place.
The confusion continues...
Meanwhile, the site has continued to release misleading stories that are sure to attract the attention of beneficiaries, like “The return of the $943 Social Security payment: New payment date announced in July.” When reading this headline, one might assume that a program is being restarted and that more money will hit their bank accounts next month. In reality, by “returned,” La Grada means that beneficiaries of the SSI program will receive their monthly benefit in July. The headline is additionally misleading because $943 is the maximum payment available to SSI recipients, but very few individuals qualify for a check that size. In April 2024, the average benefit amount for SSI was $697.
Further, another misleading aspect of the article appears in the last section under the heading “There is a double Social Security payment confirmed for August.” For many who read this, a double payment would mean an additional payment on top of what they would typically receive, not for La Grada. They are using the term ‘double payment’ to describe that because 1 September falls on a weekend, SSI beneficiaries will receive two payments in August as the September payment will be issued on Friday, 30 August. While two payments will be made in August, no benefits will be sent in September, meaning that no additional money will be sent on top of what is already received by beneficiaries. Creating an area of fear surrounding the lack of payments in September will likely be another angle La Grada, and other similar outlets will use to attract readers to their page.