Jane Burigsay
Courtesy: Social Security Administration
This year, Teacher Appreciation Week is being observed from May 4 through 8. During this special week, we honor all of the educators who prepare our students for the future. We know that well-informed teachers can have a powerful influence on their students. That’s why we have developed easy-to-access, shareable online resources so that teachers can engage their students and educate them about Social Security.
Don’t miss out on our Educator Toolkit! The toolkit includes:
• Lesson plans with objectives;
• Infographics and handouts for each lesson plan;
• Links to Social Security web pages;
• Talking points; and
• Quiz questions and answers.
You can access the toolkit at www.ssa.gov/thirdparty/educators.html.
We value and welcome the efforts all teachers make to educate America’s young people and we want to help spark and encourage discussion with students about Social Security. Please share our toolkit with your favorite educators today.
Social Security protects your investment
Social Security provides benefits to about one-fifth of America’s population and helps protect workers, children, people with disabilities and the elderly. In 2020, we will pay about $1 trillion in Social Security benefits to roughly 65 million people.
One of our most important responsibilities is to protect the hard-earned money you pay into Social Security, which is why we have zero tolerance for fraud. We take fraud claims seriously and investigate them thoroughly. We respond quickly and decisively to prevent and detect fraud. For example, we monitor transactions in order to detect actions that demonstrate an intent to defraud the American people. We will continue to innovate and develop anti-fraud initiatives, because any level of fraud is unacceptable.
We recently introduced a public service announcement to caution you about an ongoing nationwide telephone scam. The video features a message from Social Security Commissioner Andrew Saul. Along with our Office of the Inspector General, we continue to receive reports about fraudulent phone calls, text messages and emails from people who falsely claim that they are government employees. The scammers play on emotions such as fear to convince people to provide their personal information or money in cash, wire transfers, or gift cards. Fraudsters also email fake documents in their attempts to get people to comply with their demands.
“I want every American to know that if a suspicious caller states there is a problem with their Social Security number or account, they should hang up and never give the caller money or personal information. People should then go online to report the scam call to Social Security,” said Commissioner Saul. You can report these scams at https://oig.ssa.gov.
Learn how to protect yourself and report any suspicious calls or emails right away. If you have already been a victim of one of these scams, don’t be embarrassed. Instead, report the scam at https://oig.ssa.gov so we can stop these scammers and protect others. Please share our new public service announcement video with your friends and family at www.youtube.com/socialsecurity.
You can also share our publication, Social Security Protects Your Investment, at www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10004.pdf.
Jane Burigsay is the Social Security Administration’s public affairs specialist in Hawai‘i.
