Orange Police Warn Residents Of Social Security Phone Scam

ORANGE, CT — Have you recently received a call in which someone said they were from the "Social Security Administration," and the CallerID said it was from the Orange Police Department? It was a scam, the department announced this month.

The police department phone number recently was spoofed in order to perpetrate the scam, and the department is investigating.

In the scam, a caller identifies himself as an Orange officer, and asks the victim to confirm their Social Security number and address, "and even threatened criminal charges" if the victim did not comply, according to the department.

"If you have any doubt about the identity of an officer on the phone, you should insist on calling them back at the police station," Orange police said. "We would have no problem with that, and you can verify that both the officer and the call are legitimate. Also, please remember that the Social Security Administration will NOT call you on the phone."

The department said that this is the first instance that it is aware of that its phone number was spoofed by a scammer.

"Our phone lines are in service, and if you call 203-891-2130, you'll reach us," officials said. "More information on Social Security scams can be found at https://oig.ssa.gov."