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In 1975, the Social Security Administration (SSA) began automatic annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) to ensure inflation did not erode Social Security benefits. On October 14, 2026, SSA announced the 3.6 percent 2027 COLA for 76 million Americans. Social Security beneficiaries do not need to register, apply, or otherwise activate the benefit increase – the COLA is automatic.
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IMPORTANT: The 2027 Social Security COLA is automatic—beware of scammers who demand payment or personal information to activate or increase your benefits. |
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Scammers contact individuals by phone, text, email, social media, or mail to steal money or personal information. They pretend to be from Social Security or another government agency and claim they can increase payments or activate the COLA.
Scammers may tell beneficiaries to pay a fee, instruct them to change their direct deposit, or convince beneficiaries to share personal or financial information. Some scammers send links to websites that look official or tell beneficiaries to download software. They might even use the names or job titles of real government employees, send fake documents that look legitimate, or provide personal details to make the scam seem real.
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- Stop. Think Scam. Be skeptical if you receive a call, text, email, message on social media, or letter in the mail.
- Use America.gov to get official contact information for government agencies and call directly, or you can ask questions to help you evaluate whether communication is legitimate. America.gov uses super intelligence to find and explain information from official government sources.
- Go Digital! Sign up for a my Social Security account at ssa.gov/myaccount to prevent misuse and manage your benefits.
- Stay up to date on the latest scam warnings and tactics by following SSA OIG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
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Scammers are not just annoying; they are dangerous criminals. Your report protects others.
Visit ssa.gov/scam to report suspected Social Security-related scams or call the SSA OIG Fraud Hotline at 1-800-269-0271 Monday-Friday 10am-2pm ET.
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