I got a call at work yesterday from someone with a heavy accent (sounded like someone from India) who said he was with the Social Security Administration.  He called my direct line at work and verified my name (of course he said Cathy, not Mary Catherine) and home address.  He then said that Social Security wanted to thank me for being such a good citizen, for voting, for always paying my taxes and for never filing for bankruptcy.  He said they wanted to give me $300 a month for the next six months as a thank you and that all they needed was for me to give him my bank account information so they could deposit the checks directly to my account.

I’ve heard news stories about this kind of scam but never thought it would happen to me.  It was so obvious this was a hoax and I don’t understand how anyone could fall for this.  But I guess they do.  I asked the guy if he thought I was stupid.  He continued to insist that Social Security wanted to send me this money.  I told him he was nuts and that there was no way I was giving him this information.  I then called him a scammer and hung up on him.

I’m still unclear as to how he got my direct line at work and knew my home address.  I know there are websites where he could find my name and address, but where was my direct line at work connected to my personal info?  God help us.  It’s no wonder there is so much identity theft.  They can find out anything they want.