Is this government letter real? How to spot a scam
For letters, emails, and texts claiming to be from Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.
The short version: the fastest test is what the letter wants you to do. Real agencies send notices about your benefits and give you weeks to respond. Scams create urgency and ask for something — a payment, a phone call to a number they supply, or personal details you already gave the government years ago. If a letter combines pressure with a request, treat it as fake until you confirm otherwise using contact details you found yourself.
This is more common than you might think
Government impersonation is one of the largest categories of fraud in the country. The FTC received over 330,000 complaints about it in 2025, a 25 percent rise on the year before, and Social Security is among the most frequently impersonated agencies. If you have received something that feels wrong, you are not being paranoid, and you are certainly not alone.
Six warning signs
- It asks for payment in an unusual form. Gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfer, prepaid debit cards, cash by post, or gold. No government agency collects money this way, ever. This single sign is enough on its own.
- It threatens something immediate. Arrest, suspension of your Social Security number, benefits stopping within 24 or 48 hours. Real agencies give notice periods measured in weeks and explain your appeal rights.
- It charges a fee for something free. Renewing Medicaid, replacing a Medicare card, getting a new Social Security card, filing an appeal — all free. Any fee is a scam.
- It asks you to confirm details the agency already has. Your Social Security number, Medicare number, or bank details. The real agency issued these. It does not need you to read them back.
- It tells you to keep it secret. Genuine correspondence never asks you to avoid discussing it with family, your bank, or anyone else. Secrecy demands exist to stop someone talking you out of it.
- The contact details do not match. A callback number, website, or return address that differs from the agency's published ones. Look them up separately — never use what is printed on the suspicious letter.
What real agencies never do
- Demand payment by gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gold
- Threaten arrest or immediate loss of benefits to force a quick decision
- Ask you to keep a matter confidential from your family
- Email you from an address that does not end in .gov
- Transfer your call from a private company directly through to Social Security or its Inspector General — that is not technically possible, and any company claiming to do it is running a scam
Two tactics worth knowing about
Real names and fake badges
Scammers have started using the names of actual agency employees, along with fabricated badge images and credentials, to sound legitimate when you check. A name that appears real is not confirmation. Neither is a photograph of an ID.
Official-looking letterhead
One widely circulated fake arrives as an attachment on convincing Social Security Inspector General letterhead, headed with a claim that your Social Security number is being suspended over criminal activity, stamped "Official Document," and giving 24 hours to call a number. Every element of it is designed to look authentic. Layout and logos prove nothing — they are trivially copied.
The one reliable test. Put the letter down and contact the agency using a number you find independently — on your benefits card, on a statement you already have, or on the agency's official website that you navigated to yourself. Never the number on the letter, and never a number from a search advert.
If the letter is genuine, nothing is lost by verifying. If it is fake, you have just avoided the whole thing.
Where to report it
Reporting takes a few minutes and genuinely helps — it is how these operations get tracked and shut down.
- Social Security scams: the SSA Office of the Inspector General at oig.ssa.gov/report
- Medicare or Medicaid scams: the HHS Office of Inspector General, or 1-800-447-8744
- Any government impersonation: the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov
- If money changed hands: also file with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, and contact local law enforcement
If you already responded
This happens to careful people. Acting quickly matters more than working out how it happened.
- Stop all contact. Do not answer further calls or messages, and do not try to negotiate or recover money directly.
- Call your bank or card issuer if you sent money or shared account details. Some transfers can be stopped if reported quickly.
- If you shared your Social Security number, go to IdentityTheft.gov for a recovery plan, and consider freezing your credit with the three credit bureaus. Freezing is free.
- Report it using the contacts above.
- Watch your accounts and benefit statements over the following months for anything unfamiliar.
One thing worth saying plainly: falling for one of these is not a sign of carelessness or declining judgement. These operations are professionally run and designed by people who do this full time. Reporting quickly is what matters now.
When a letter is real but still confusing
Most government letters are genuine. They are just written in a way that makes ordinary people anxious — dense, formal, full of section references, and often carrying a deadline. A letter being hard to understand is not evidence that it is fake.
If yours passes the tests above but you still cannot work out what it wants, the guides below cover the most common notices.
Want to check a specific letter?
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Related guides
- Social Security overpayment notice
- Medicare Summary Notice
- Medicaid renewal packet
- Medicaid request for information
Sources
- Protect Yourself from Social Security Scams (SSA)
- Scam Alerts (SSA Office of the Inspector General)
- Government Impersonator Scams (Federal Trade Commission)
MyPlainLetter is an independent service. It is not affiliated with, authorized by, or endorsed by the Social Security Administration, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or any other government agency. This page is general information about recognising fraudulent correspondence — it is not legal or financial advice. To verify a specific letter, contact the agency directly using contact details you look up yourself.