Social Security Scammers Are Using the 2027 COLA Announcement to Promise Bigger Checks

Social Security recipients hoping for bigger checks next year could instead lose money to a growing scam promising to “maximize,” “boost” or “unlock” benefits.

The offers may arrive through unsolicited calls, letters, text messages, ads or social media posts. Some lead recipients to legitimate-looking websites or forms that request sensitive information like Social Security numbers and bank account details, supposedly to calculate or process a larger payment.

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The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General confirms to Money that these offers are part of a seasonal increase in reported fraud.

The SSA will announce the 2027 Social Security cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in October, meaning beneficiaries will learn how much their monthly payments will increase next year. That heightened interest gives criminals an opening to circulate fake benefit offers and claim recipients must take action to secure more money.

In reality, Social Security COLAs are applied automatically. Recipients never need to pay a fee or provide information to activate the increase.

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How the Social Security benefit-increase scam works

According to a news release, the fake offers appear to come directly from the SSA. Scammers ask the recipient to verify the benefits they currently receive, then demand an administrative fee or request enough personal information to facilitate identity theft.

But there is no secret method for negotiating a higher Social Security payment. In fact, there’s no negotiating at all: Benefit amounts are determined by federal law using factors such as a worker’s earnings record, retirement age and eligibility for certain programs.

Losing the advertised fee is only the immediate risk. Someone who submits a Social Security number and bank information could also inadvertently surrender control of their benefits account.

Haywood Talcove, CEO of online fraud prevention company LexisNexis Risk Solutions’ Government Group, says that criminals can change the bank account connected to a victim’s Social Security benefits along with other account information. Then, when the actual beneficiary attempts to regain access, the altered details can make it difficult to prove that they are the legitimate account holder.

“It makes you, the real person, look like a criminal,” Talcove adds.

That threat is evident in a separate scheme reported earlier this month. Fraudsters used fake prize offers to convince victims to redirect their Social Security deposits to prepaid debit accounts before cutting them off from their own monthly payments.

Government impersonation scams are also becoming increasingly expensive. Consumers reported losing about $920 million to government impostors in 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

How to protect your Social Security benefits

Consider any unsolicited offer to increase your benefits suspicious, especially if it requests a fee, Social Security number, banking details or account credentials. Do not click links or call a number included in the message.

Instead, navigate directly to ssa.gov/myaccount to review your earnings, benefits and direct-deposit information. Monitoring the account can help you spot changes you did not authorize.

If you already provided information to a suspected scammer, contact your bank and the SSA immediately at 1-800-772-1213. If you are locked out of your account or cannot resolve the problem online or by phone, Talcove recommends visiting a local Social Security office as quickly as possible.

“Sprint to your local Social Security office and tell them in person,” he says.

You should also report the incident at ssa.gov/scam and visit IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan if personal information was compromised.

Above all, remember that a legitimate Social Security increase does not need to be unlocked. Anyone offering to negotiate a bigger check for a fee is trying to take your money, information or both.