Missing Social Security Funds

[wandering1]

I visited my local SS office to ask questions and was told by the SS rep not to set up an online account to access my SS info. If you have online access to your SS account then your account may be hacked. 1000’s of accounts per week are being hacked into from India and China. If you receive a direct deposit then the hackers change your bank info to theirs and your funds are deposited into their account. If you receive your funds by mail then they change your mailing address to theirs. According to the SS rep only those that have an online account set up are being hacked. The office I visited was in a small town and I was told 3-5 accounts per week in that area were being hacked into. If you don’t get your SS funds on time call your SS office. The SS rep recommended closing your online account to prevent hacking.

[wandering1]

JAXFL wrote:

wandering1 wrote:
I visited my local SS office to ask questions and was told by the SS rep not to set up an online account.... The SS rep recommended closing your online account to prevent hacking.

So did the SS rep want you to come by the office each month and pick up CASH?

I think you missed the point. The risk is in activating your online access. If you receive your check in the mail or by direct deposit and do not have an online account activated for your internet access your risk is less.

[2oldman]

I should hire someone to hack mine. I haven't been able to log in there for quite some time.

[stoshb]

wandering1 wrote:

BarbaraOK wrote:
I was under the impression that the SS site didn't make the changes immediately and that they send out an email to the last email address (like lots of other places) saying that a change had been made and to contact them if you didn't make that change. So none of that is true?

Barb

If that is their rules I am sure they follow them. If I hack into their database I am not affected by their rules and I just change your personal info a day before your deposit is made or before your check is printed and I have got your money. If I am a hacker rules do not apply to me.

Actually, the hacker followed the rules. I am not sure if the SS does not notify users that the information has changed or if they send the notification to the new address, but the result is the same. NO NOTIFICATION OF CHANGES TO YOUR OLD CONTACT INFORMATION. I think that they assume that because you changed your contact information, that that anything sent using that information will be lost so why bother sending it. Sort of a Catch-22 situation.

[wandering1]

BarbaraOK wrote:
I was under the impression that the SS site didn't make the changes immediately and that they send out an email to the last email address (like lots of other places) saying that a change had been made and to contact them if you didn't make that change. So none of that is true?

Barb

If that is their rules I am sure they follow them. If I hack into their database I am not affected by their rules and I just change your personal info a day before your deposit is made or before your check is printed and I have got your money. If I am a hacker rules do not apply to me.

[JAXFL]

wandering1 wrote:
I visited my local SS office to ask questions and was told by the SS rep not to set up an online account.... The SS rep recommended closing your online account to prevent hacking.

So did the SS rep want you to come by the office each month and pick up CASH?

[BarbaraOK]

I was under the impression that the SS site didn't make the changes immediately and that they send out an email to the last email address (like lots of other places) saying that a change had been made and to contact them if you didn't make that change. So none of that is true?

Barb

[down_home]

This is happening in other arenas. My file was accessed at Memphis VA. I've never been there. There was no activity. someone just accessed it.
Tried to log in and ask a question on line. It had my Service Number and service dates but when I hit send it said it did not recieve the expected response.
I've been trying to get a hold of business office here but no luck so far.
Who knows what meanness is lurking for me. I guess they can get my bank since it is all direct deposit now. Once in all accounts everywhere could disappear.

[Roller4Tan]

Google shows Washington and south carolina state sites hacked. Drivers license numbers and SSN obtained by hackers.

[2oldman]

It's hard to have a system that's hacker-proof these days. SS is no exception, but if there were truly 'thousands' of accounts being hacked on a regular basis it would be a disaster. One that I have only heard about on here.

[stoshb]

So someone got your wife's user name and password, as well as her SS number, in order to log in and change the info? How did they get that info?

Barb

Not quite correct. All someone really needs is SSN and Mothers Maiden name to recover "lost" user name and password.

As an old time computer programer I know that there are many ways to get this information.

Look through news at how often there are news stories about companies computer information being compromised.

It wasn't that many years ago that we used SSN for identifiers everywhere. When I was in college, it was my student ID, in several states it was my drivers license #, when I applied for any credit card they wanted that number, fill out an application for child care and they wanted SSN of parents. There are very many ways that this information was exposed.

So company ABC that has old files and tosses them, what happens when the dumpster divers go through the trash. Then there are groups of people who find the information and then sell it to scammers for their "enjoyment"

Another point is that you can find SSN/Name combinations in a bunch of ways. Adding the required mothers maiden name is so simple. First off, it can probably be found with the SSN/Name information. If not, then go on ancestry.com to find it.

Good user name/passwords are reasonably good at keeping me out of my information because my memory is leaving, but not any good at keeping a determined con artist out.

Identification information lives forever and who knows where it can be found.

[stoshb]

Had an on-line account and it got hijacked.

[BarbaraOK]

stoshb wrote:
Hey "Texan", take it from another Texan, it is possible and we lost a months check this way.

What happened.

1) Had both my wife's and my account set up for direct deposit to our bank account.
2) Someone got into wife's account, changed address (to bogus address in Austin, Tx), email (to bogus gmail account using address on multiple other SSN accounts at same time), and bank account (from Bank of America to .......

So someone got your wife's user name and password, as well as her SS number, in order to log in and change the info? How did they get that info?

Barb

[pugslyyy]

So you had an online account and someone redirected it, or someone created an online account using your information?

[stoshb]

2oldman wrote:
More reason to panic.

wandering1 wrote:
1000’s of accounts per week are being hacked into from India and China.

And this has somehow escaped the evening news?

It was on the evening news. Saw it there before we were hacked. Figured it would happen to "someone else" never to us.