Social Security Scam Alert!
- TrainMyParent.com
- Oct 17
- 3 min read
Yesterday, we received the following email, supposedly from noreply@ssa.gov, and classified it as an attempt to install some kind of malware. or to obtain your credentials through phishing. Can you spot the reasons why we consider this a Social Security scam attempt? There are at least 12 things we found! Read this email, and see what you find suspicious. Then, read our analysis at the bottom.
From: noreply@ssa.gov
Rely-To: irs@irs.com
Date: October 17, 2025 4:22 AM (GMT-05:00)
Subject: View Your New Benefit Amount Using Your Social Security Statement Attached
New document is ready to view
We have sent you a secure email containing your personal Social Security Statement and a summary of your benefits. Please open the attachment to review your information. Because you have selected paperless delivery you'll get the following document electronically: - Please download the attachment and follow the instructions. NOTE: Statements & Documents work only on PC/Windows .Failure to Comply Will Result In Suspension Of Your Social Security Benefits Until Required Action Is Taken.
Thank You
Some of the things we found suspicious:
This email was sent at 4:22 in the morning EDT, which is very early in the morning. It is unlikely that Social Security workers would be sending these at an early hour like this.
This was sent during a government shutdown, when the Social Security Administration is using a skeleton crew. Although Social Security payments continue during a shutdown, it is highly unlikely that there would be any sort of bulk statement sending activities during this time.
Social Security does not send statements via email.
There are lots of punctuation inconsistencies and errors, such as the colon dash after the word electronically, the space period after PC/Windows, and the use of the ampersand in Statements & Documents.
The email directs you to a link that can work only on PC/Windows. Typically, statements are in the Adobe PDF format, which is platform independent. Specifying Windows as a requirement likely suggests the downloadable file is a program that can only execute on a Windows machine.
The email suggests a sense of urgency, with the Failure To Comply Will Result In Suspension Of Your Social Security Benefits. The government would not withhold benefits because you failed to review your benefits summary. It does not pass the sniff test.
The capitalization of every word in the last sentence, Failure To Comply... is not what we would expect in a properly formatted email message.
They are insisting that we download and open an attachment and follow the instructions. That is a red flag, and a great way to let them install malware or ransomware on your computer.
We suspect that, if we followed the link, it would lead to a login page that would look like the Social Security website and ask us to login, thereby obtaining our login information.
The Sending and Reply-To email addresses have different domain names. The Reply-To address is an irs.com domain, whereas the Sending address is an ssa.gov domain.
The IRS and Social Security are two different agencies, and would both use the .gov suffix, not a .com suffix. The domain irs.com exists, but belongs to a tax preparation software company.
The subject line suggests that the email has an attachment, and is not worded properly. There is no attachment, and the sentence just does not pass the sniff test.
Criminals are getting sneakier by the minute, and we need to stay on our toes and be vigilant before responding to emails like these and falling into their trap.
Learn how you can protect yourself or your family by enrolling in the Complete Internet Security Basics and Phishing Awareness Course for Parents on TrainMyParent.com
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