Jan 23, 2019 2 min read

Criminals are trying to take advantage of the federal government partial shutdown, and state police noted that during this period, the federal agency that serves as a clearinghouse for scams is, itself, largely closed.

The state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation issued an alert known as a “community awareness bulletin” last week, as the shutdown reached its 32nd day Tuesday.

“These scams may appear as email solicitations, email links or attachments, phone solicitations or pop-up internet pages.

“Residents should note that due to the shutdown, the Federal Trade Commission customer complaint system is non-operational, leaving a gap between the victim reporting” and the issuing of consumer alerts.

Police gave an example of a phone call or email claiming to be from a government office and implying that federal benefits, such as Medicare direct deposits, will stop unless the recipient gives personal banking information.

Those making the calls may use software that “spoofs” a local phone number when they could be calling from anywhere, making the call impossible to trace.

Scammers may also be offering pre-approved loans or grants in exchange for bank account information, or emails may appear to be from banks in an attempt to get recipients to open links. Do not open links or attachments, police cautioned, and delete the emails.

Police also want furloughed federal workers to be aware of fake job offers that require an application fee.

Furloughed workers and the general public should never divulge Social Security numbers, dates of birth, credit card numbers, addresses or bank account information.

“Government agencies will rarely call you unless you have been in touch with them first,” police warned.

Should someone fall victim to a scam, he or she should notify a financial institution and local law enforcement.

Local Social Security offices remain open, and Irv Horowitz, district manager for the Washington office, said the agency has its own hotline to report Social Security-related scams at 1-800-772-1213.

“Our budget was passed and we’ve been operational since Oct. 1, the new fiscal year,” Horowitz said Tuesday from his office at 95 W. Beau St. “This is business as usual.”

The Washington district for the Social Security Administration also includes Greene County, and it has branch offices in Rostraver and Uniontown.