Financial Advisor Robert Wall of the Everence® office in North Newton, Kansas, recently alerted a writer for InvestmentNews about two clients whose Social Security benefits were claimed by thieves.
The writer, Mary Beth Franklin, used Robert’s information to write about the potential for thefts from online Social Security accounts.
Two of Robert’s clients discovered that someone had claimed (or was trying to claim) their Social Security benefits. In both cases, the clients hadn’t yet started accepting benefits.
People at full retirement age or older are especially vulnerable because they’re eligible for lump-sum payments of several months of retroactive benefits. Franklin noted that those lump-sum payments seem especially attractive to identity thieves.
Robert is an InvestmentNews subscriber and regularly reads Franklin’s articles, particularly those pertaining to Social Security issues.
Robert recommends that people with online Social Security accounts check those accounts regularly for any activity that they did not initiate.
The full InvestmentNews article is available here.