SSA asks Alaska Medicare network partners to share scam materials

The Social Security Administration is asking its Alaska Medicare Information Office network partners to help older residents spot scams, after the state led the nation in per-capita elder fraud complaints in 2024.

Older Alaskans lost $8.17 million to fraud in 2024, mostly to tech support schemes, according to the Alaska Commission on Aging's 2025 Senior Snapshot. Alaska ranked first per capita nationwide in senior fraud complaints reported to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center.

Nick Perrine, the SSA's chief communications officer, wrote to partners this week asking them to distribute scam-awareness materials to clients. "Scammers continue to impersonate government offices, threaten loss of benefits, and pressure individuals to quickly share personal information or send money," Perrine wrote. He urged partners to remind people to verify unexpected contacts through official SSA channels.

The agency's scam-awareness page offers infographics, publications and slides for partners to share. It calls imposter scams the top fraud type reported to the Federal Trade Commission.

Perrine also promoted My Social Security accounts, which use Login.gov or ID.me for sign-in and let users review their earnings records and benefit estimates. Separately, a senior-veterans education resource not affiliated with SSA warns that scammers target these login systems through phishing attempts.

People who suspect they have been targeted can report the contact to the SSA's Inspector General. Callers who receive a legitimate SSA follow-up call can verify it using a five-digit PIN.