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Social Security beneficiaries aren’t the only ones looking forward to the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) that kicks in with January 2026 payments.
Fraud fighters warn that the legion of scammers who impersonate Social Security Administration (SSA) officials in robocalls and other communications are adapting their pitches to the upcoming 2.8 percent increase, falsely claiming that beneficiaries must pay a fee or provide personal or financial data to get their COLA boost.
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“It’s worked in the past, and [scammers] tend to revisit tactics that have worked in the past,” says Mary Miller, senior adviser to the SSA’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
In past years, the agency has received reports of emails, letters and text messages directing people to pay $100 or provide personal information to “activate” their COLA, Miller says. Some of the messages include links to a website that looks “very similar” to the SSA’s site, she says.
Beneficiaries should ignore, delete or report such messages, she advises.
“The COLA is automatic. There’s no need to take action,” Miller says. “A scammer might seem helpful, like they’re trying to be supportive, when in reality they’re really just trying to steal.”
COLA coming soon
The COLA scam emerged in late 2021 after the SSA announced a 5.9 percent benefit adjustment for 2022 — at the time, the biggest jump in four decades. This year’s 2.8 percent pay bump translates into about $56 more per month for the average retirement payment.
People collecting Social Security retirement, survivor and disability benefits will start seeing the bigger monthly payments in January. Those drawing Supplemental Security Income, an SSA-administered benefit for people with low incomes who are 65 and older or have disabilities or vision loss, get their first COLA-boosted payment Dec. 31.
Social Security scams are one of the most common forms of government impostor fraud, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In the first six months of 2025, about 30,000 Social Security–related impostor scams were reported to the SSA’s inspector general’s office. The true figure is likely higher because most older adults who have experienced fraud do not report to local or federal law enforcement, a May 2024 AARP study found.
In recent years, these scams have largely centered on false claims from phony officials that targets face an imminent threat of lost benefits, seized assets or even arrest because of misuse of their Social Security number.
“These scammers say the only way out of the [fake] crisis is to follow their instructions — which will include sending money to the scammers,” the FTC warned in August. “They may say this will keep your money safe, secure your identity, clear your name or help catch the criminals. There may be layers of complexity to the story, but it’s all a lie aimed at draining your accounts.”
The SSA recently warned of a new scam along these lines, involving an official-looking letter on fake U.S. Supreme Court letterhead with the forged signatures of two justices.
“The scam letter is personally addressed to the recipient and claims they are a primary suspect in connection with legal proceedings and criminal charges,” the alert says.
“On every level this letter is completely false,” Michelle L. Anderson, the SSA’s acting inspector general, says in the scam alert. “If you get this type of letter, rip it up and report it.”
Criminals look for ‘emotional triggers’
Scammers follow the news and tailor their missives to capitalize on economic developments such as rising inflation or higher unemployment, says Clayton LiaBraaten, a senior adviser with Truecaller, a caller ID and spam-blocking app.
“They take advantage of people’s concerns by crafting scams that seem to offer relief, such as fake government aid or financial support offers,” he says. “Scammers are always looking for emotional triggers, like the excitement of a COLA increase, to manipulate victims into acting quickly.”
Criminals have also adopted sophisticated, data-driven strategies to target key populations, gathering information from public records, social media profiles and data breaches, LiaBraaten says. They “might know when someone is reaching retirement age, has recently applied for benefits or lives in an area with a high concentration of retirees,” he says.
Jennifer Pitt, a senior analyst with cybersecurity consulting company Javelin Strategy & Research, says scammers are using artificial intelligence tools that make it increasingly difficult to identify fraudulent communications, even for experts like her.
“There are a lot of [email] scams going on with Social Security where it will look completely legitimate. It might be the exact [SSA] logo,” she says.
Pitt's own safeguard: “I will never give out personal information or money when somebody contacts me.” She advises consumers to hang up or delete suspicious messages. If you’re concerned there may be a legitimate problem, call the SSA directly after finding contact information from a source you trust, such as ssa.gov.
The SSA says its agents do not contact beneficiaries out of the blue and will never pressure people to pay a fee, transfer money or share sensitive financial information.
Miller says it’s essential for consumers to report scams because it helps her office and other government agencies publicize emerging fraud threats.
Report Social Security fraud to OIG and FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center
The more information authorities have, the better they can identify patterns, link cases and ultimately catch the criminals.
“We use [that information] to identify something that might be new or something that might be trending in the wrong direction,” Miller says. “And we try to get ahead of it so that people don’t lose money.”
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